Renga

Ingredients

Fish

• 4whole smoked herring, bought
• hot water or milk, for soaking

Dressing

• 1large onion, sliced very thin
• juice of 2 lemons
• 4 tbspolive oil
• 1 tspground cumin
• black pepper
• 1small bunch parsley, chopped

To serve

• spring onions, whole
• flatbread
• lemon wedges

Directions

1. Soak the smoked herring in hot water for 20 minutes, drain, and repeat with fresh hot water. Soaking in warm milk instead is the Egyptian trick and it takes the harshness off more gently.
2. Taste a shred. It should be savoury and smoky rather than aggressively salty. Give it a third soak if it is still fierce.
3. Peel the skin away and lift the flesh off the bones, shredding it with your fingers. Go through it twice — smoked herring is full of fine bones and this is the whole job.
4. Soak the sliced onion in cold water for 10 minutes and drain well, which takes the raw bite out without cooking it.
5. Toss the shredded fish with the onion, lemon juice, olive oil, cumin, black pepper and most of the parsley.
6. Let it stand for 15 minutes so the lemon works into the fish, then taste. It will almost certainly need no salt at all.
7. Scatter over the rest of the parsley and serve at room temperature with whole spring onions, flatbread and lemon, alongside the rest of a Sham el-Nessim table.

Technique

• Soak and taste, every time. The salt level of smoked herring varies wildly and this is the only step that matters.
• Add no salt until you have tasted the finished dish. It usually needs none.
• Renga is the mild half of the Sham el-Nessim table — smoked and cooked-through, unlike feseekh, which is a fermented raw fish and a different proposition entirely.

Substitutions

• Smoked mackerel, which needs far less soaking and is easier to bone.
• Kippers, which are the same fish under another name.

Variations

• Some households add chopped tomato and green chilli.
• Served pounded into a coarse paste rather than shredded, for spreading on bread.

History

Eaten beside fesikh at Sham el-Nessim, the spring festival descended from the pharaonic Shemu harvest feast; smoked herring is the milder of the two.

Frequently asked questions

What is Renga?

Renga is a charcuterie & cured from Egypt: smoked herring shredded with onion, oil and lemon, eaten with green onions. Eaten beside fesikh at Sham el-Nessim, the spring festival descended from the pharaonic Shemu harvest feast; smoked herring is the milder of the two.

How long does Renga take to make?

Renga takes 20 min plus 1 hour soaking of preparation and no cooking at all. The recipe makes serves 4. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Renga?

Yes, within limits. Smoked mackerel, which needs far less soaking and is easier to bone. Kippers, which are the same fish under another name.

What is the most important thing to get right in Renga?

Taste a shred. It should be savoury and smoky rather than aggressively salty. Give it a third soak if it is still fierce.