Herring

Good herring tells you everything on the board, before the knife even touches it. Press it with a finger — it should spring back, never stay dented. The skin stays tight and shiny, the flesh looks dense and smooth, never dry, never crumbly at the edges. The smell is clean and sea-like, never sour, never flat. Trust your eyes, your nose, and your fingers together — that's how you choose it.

Some people say the biggest, palest herring on the counter is always the best one. No! I've bought plenty of big pale herring that fell apart under my finger and smelled of nothing good. Size and colour won't tell you what your hands and nose can.

That misconception leads people to overpay for a fish that only looks promising, then drown it in oil and onion to cover for a herring that never earned its place on the board. Good herring doesn't need rescuing like that — a fish that springs back under your finger and smells of clean sea needs nothing more than a sharp knife and a steady hand.

One hundred grams raw gives you 158 kilocalories, 9 grams of fat, almost 18 of protein. Slice it thin, add onion, and let the fish do the talking.