Cream of Carrot Soup

This is such a nice soup and an easy way to enjoy the naturally sweet taste of carrots. When using chicken broth mix, I've given 3 tablespoons in the recipe, but follow the instructions on the brand of mix you use. By using the water you used to cook the vegetables to make the broth, you're not just tossing out any of the nutrients from the process. If you use your own homemade broth, just cook the vegetables in that broth; thus, retaining the nutrients. I use a chicken broth mix, so I don't add salt to this recipe at all, as the broth mix has salt. 

Ingredients (about 5 servings):

2 cups sliced carrots

1 cup roughly chopped onion 

2 cloves garlic, sliced

2 inch piece peeled ginger, sliced

3 1/4 cups water for cooking the vegetables, then for making the broth

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons chicken broth mix (or use your own homemade chicken broth)

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

1 cup heavy cream or half and half*

To a thick bottomed pan, add the carrot slices, onion, garlic and ginger, over medium high heat until the water begins to boil; then, reduce the heat to maintain a gentle steady simmer until the vegetables are cooked, but still somewhat firm, and definitely not mushy. Add the vegetables to a blender/food processor. Add the chicken mix to the water used to cook the vegetables and stir until the mix is dissolved (or use your own homemade chicken broth to cook the vegetables), and add the ground turmeric, ground cumin, ground black pepper, cayenne pepper, dry mustard and ground cinnamon, then blend/process until smooth (or leave somewhat "chunky," if you like that texture). Pour the blended soup back into the pan over medium heat. Stir in the cream or 1/2 & 1/2 and let the soup heat up, but do not boil.   

 

* Half and half is 50% milk and 50% cream, but that can be deceiving, as some people use lower fat cream (like about 20% fat), while others use heavy cream (about 36% to 40% fat).

 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Easter-This religious holiday name is related to "east," a word from the Germanic roots of English, and further, it is related to "Australia," a word (name) from Latin "Terra Australis" (long a in 'tralis'), and "Austria," a Latinized form from Old High German "Ostarrihhi" (modern German "Österreich"). English and German are the only two Germanic languages to retain "Easter" as their main word for the Christian holiday.^ "Easter" goes back to Indo European "aus," which meant "to dawn, to give light, to shine." This gave Old Germanic "austro," meaning "toward the light, toward the dawn;" thus also, "east." This gave Old English "Eastre," which was the name given to a Germanic goddess of spring; perhaps, from the notion of increasing daylight at that time of year and the "renewal" of plant and animal life. This fits into Christian belief and the former pagan holiday celebrating the goddess in the spring, simply transferred to Christianity. The modern German form of "Easter" is "Ostern." Low German has "Oostern" as a secondary and a somewhat antiquated word for Easter (common Low German forms for Easter: "Paasch" and "Paaschen"). Low German is not a standardized language, but rather a collection of dialects. Dutch has "Pasen."

 

^ Other European languages use forms of Latin "pasha" as their word for "Easter." The word goes back to Greek and Greek got it from Hebrew, where it meant "Passover."  

Seafood Bisque

Nothing like a good seafood bisque.

 

 

Ingredients (about 4 servings):

 

1/3 cup lobster meat bite size pieces

1/3 cup crab meat bite size pieces

1/3 cup small shrimp, or larger shrimp cut in half (peeled and deveined)

2/3 cup onion, finely chopped

1/2 cup carrot, shredded

2 cups mild chicken broth (or vegetable stock)

3 tablespoons flour

4 tablespoons butter + 1 teaspoon regular olive oil

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon tarragon (if you use the leaves, crush them in your palm first)

1/3 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 can evaporated milk (not condensed milk!)*

1/2 cup half and half

3 tablespoons brandy (+ 1 or 2 for yourself  hahaha)

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

 

In a large heavy bottom pan or pot over low heat, add and melt the butter and mix in the teaspoon of oil. Add the onion and the carrot and stir frequently until the vegetables soften; this can take a little time, but it is important to continue cooking the vegetables until they are softened. Unless you're Bugs Bunny, you don't want to bite into a bunch of crunchy carrot and start going around saying, "What's up, Doc?" When the veggies are softened, sprinkle the flour over the veggies and stir it in. Adjust the heat upward to medium and add 1/2 cup of the broth, stirring to mix the broth with the flour coated vegetables, until the liquid just starts to bubble. Add another 1/2 cup of broth and stir again and repeat the process, allowing the liquid to heat up to nearly boiling, before adding another 1/2 cup of broth. The liquid should thicken somewhat by the time all of the broth is added and heated (I said "somewhat;" we're not making pie filling or cement). Stir in the Worcestershire sauce, tarragon and cayenne pepper (1/3 teaspoon of cayenne in this amount of ingredients will not cause you to dial 9-1-1 or seek treatment in your local emergency care facility; on the other hand, if you're a person who seeks your own personal Hell in spicy food, I personally don't think you should use a lot more than 1/3 or 1/2 a teaspoon of cayenne pepper, because seafood is mild in taste and you would be overdoing it in a great bisque.) Turn the heat back down to low, stir, and then add the evaporated milk and the half and half, stirring as you add the dairy products. Add the shrimp, the lobster meat and the crab meat. Add the brandy and the ground black pepper and gently mix them in. Let everything warm up completely, but do NOT let it boil at all and do not let the shrimp cook too long, or they'll become rubbery. (To test, you can take a piece of shrimp from the bisque and throw it at the wall, if it bounces back, you've got two problems: the shrimp is overcooked, plus you'll have to clean the wall  hahahahaha!)

 

 

* Evaporated milk is heated to kill bacteria and it has more than half of the water removed. It is similar in appearance to homogenized milk, with it typically being just slightly off white in color, although with some brand names it is more to a light tan color. Condensed milk also has more than half of the water removed, but then sugar is added, making the milk thick and sweet. It is typically kind of beige in color.

 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Bisque-English has two words of this spelling, with the least used word meaning "a type of unglazed ceramic," which is simply a shortened form of "biscuit," due to the material being baked. The more common form, meaning "a thick and creamy soup," is "seemingly" an altered form of "Biscay," a province of Spain that is the heart of the Basque part of Spain (in Spanish, the region is known as "Vizcaya"), with the bay between Spain and France also bearing the name. The soup may well have acquired the name from the bay, as it is often a soup of fish or other seafood, which would have been caught in the bay. On the French side of the border, in southwestern France, is the seaside resort of "Biscarrosse Plage," with the first part of the name obviously derived from the same ultimate source, presumed to be the Basque word "biskar," thought to mean "mountainous area, mountain ridge," which if true, would be a likely reference to the Pyrennes Mountains.

Vichyssoise

The origin of "Vichyssoise" is unclear, with France and the United States both having claims on the famous soup, which is usually served cold. Even if "Vichyssoise" was invented in the United States, its ties to France would still be substantial, because the man often credited with its invention, Louis Diat, the chef at the Ritz-Carlton in New York, was born in France, not far from Vichy, the city after which he claimed to have named the soup in 1917, originally, "Crème Vichyssoise Glacée" (iced or chilled cream Vichyssoise). Diat said he used a recipe from his grandmother's potato and leek soup in France as the basis for Vichyssoise. Julia Child, the famous television cook and culinary author, although she lived and trained in France, and later popularized French cooking in her native United States, maintained that Vichyssoise was an American invention. The are many variations to Vichyssoise, although most versions are similar. This is my own version (hey, I told you there were many variations, hahaha).

Ingredients:

4 cups chopped potatoes
1 cup leeks, white parts only, cut into about 1 inch pieces
2/3 cup white onion, roughly chopped
2 cups chicken broth (or vegetable stock)
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon black or white pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme (thyme can add lots of flavor, so be careful how much you use)  
1/2 teaspoon salt (if the broth has a high salt content, you can leave out the salt)
chives for garnish

Cook the potatoes, leeks and onion in water until tender. Drain the vegetables and while still warm put them into a blender or a food processor, then add the chicken broth, butter, white pepper and salt. Blend/process the soup until smooth, then add the butter, heavy cream and dried thyme, blend/process again until well mixed. The soup is intended to be rather thick, but if it is too thick for you, you can thin it with a little more cream or even milk. Sieve the soup if you want to be sure it is smooth, with no vegetable pieces. I use a sieve that allows some of the small thyme leaves into the soup. Refrigerate the soup for several hours, until it is well chilled. Snip a few pieces of fresh chives on top of each serving.    

WORD HISTORY:
Slack-This word is distantly related to "lax" and to "relish," both words of Latin derivation borrowed by English. It goes back to Indo European "sleg," which had the notion, "to be loose, or slack." This gave Old Germanic "slakas/slakaz," seemingly meaning, "be loose, be infirm, not taut;" thus also, "be weak." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) the adjective "slæc," which meant, "lazy," then also, "slow, lax," and this then became "slack." The noun was derived from the adjective in the 1300s with the general meaning of "looseness," and then also the figurative, "lull in some activity." "Slacks" was applied to loose fitting military pants (1820s?). The noun meaning "dust from coal" is not really the same word and simply came to be spelled and pronounced as "slack," to which it is unrelated, but it is related to "slag." The verb form "slacken" seems to me to be a hold over from when English used "en" endings on most infinitive verbs,^ and this verb developed from the adjective in the 1400s, but the shortened verb form "slack" was also used in the 1500s; both forms meaning, "to become loose, to become less active." The verb "slack" is now often used with "off," in "slack off," to mean, "to become less active in something." "Slack's" German relative is "schlack" (slack, loose, lazy, careless), "schlaksig" (would literally be "slacky" in English, and means "lanky"), the noun "Schlaks" (tall and lanky man), Low German had "slak," Dutch had "slac," and Swedish has "slack" (slack, floppy).  

^ Originally English, like its German cousin, used "-en" on many infinitive forms of verbs. In those times, English speakers didn't have to say "to" with a verb to indicate it was the infinitive. Later, when verb conjugations began to "streamline" in English, "to" was added to represent the former -en endings. Standard German has not changed, and that's why German infinitive verb forms commonly end in -en; as for example, "sehen" (to see), "machen" (to make or do), "hören" (to hear).      

Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup

You can can top with each serving with some crisp crumbled or chopped bacon. 


Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups white mushrooms, chopped
1 1/2 cups cremini/baby bella mushrooms, chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 large garlic clove, mince
3 cups chicken broth (low sodium is fine)
1/4 cup white wine (not a sweet wine)  
3 to 4 tablespoons butter
4 to 5 tablespoons flour
1 can evaporated milk
(optional) 3 or 4 slices of crisp bacon, crumbled  
1/2 teaspoon salt (if your chicken broth has a high salt content, you can leave out this added salt) 
1 teaspoon black pepper

In a heavy duty pan, melt the butter over medium heat and add the chopped onion and celery, saute for a minute or two, then add the garlic, cook another minute, then set the heat to low, add the mushrooms, cook a further 4 to 5 minutes. At first, the mushrooms will look like a mountain, but they will cook down substantially. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture, stirring well to incorporate and to take the raw flour taste out (I used 4 tablespoons of flour, but I like mushroom soup very thick, so I added another tablespoon mixed with some of the canned milk. I put the milk/flour mix through a sieve, just in case there was any flour not mixed in). If you need to add a little more butter, do so, or add a little canola or regular oil. Gradually add the chicken broth, stirring constantly until the mixture simmers and thickens. Stir in the white wine, black pepper and salt (if using). Now stir in the canned milk, a little at a time (if you want the soup to be thicker, do as I noted above at this time. It will need to come to a simmer).  

With some crispy chopped bacon...

WORD HISTORY:
Moss-This word, distantly related to the noun "must" (grape juice, new wine; a Latin-derived word borrowed by many Germanic languages centuries ago), goes back to Indo European "meus," which meant, "wetness, dampness." This gave Old Germanic "musan," which meant, "bog, marsh;" and thus also, "moss" (plant growth in marshy areas). This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "meos," which meant, "moss," and this then became "mosse," before the modern form. Other forms in the Germanic languages: German has "Moos," Low German has "Moss," West Frisian "moas," Dutch "mos," Danish has "mose" (meaning: marsh, bog, moor),^ Norwegian has "mose" (meaning: moss), Icelandic has "mosi" (moss), Swedish has "mossa."

^ The Germanic form also gave Old English "mos," which meant, "bog." 

Creamy Shrimp Soup of Northern Germany: Greetsieler Krabbensuppe

Greetsiel is a small port town of about 1500 on the North Sea coast of Germany. It is part of the region known as "East Frisia" (German: "Ostfriesland," East Frisian dialect of Frisian: "Oostfreesland"), which is part of the German state of "Lower Saxony" (German: "Niedersachsen").

The standard German word for "shrimps" * is "Garnelen" (pronounced as if, "gar-NAY-len") a form of a word standard German got from Dutch (modern Dutch "garnalen"), but in the north of Germany, the shrimps caught in the North Sea, typically brownish in color, are called "Krabben," actually the standard word for crabs, and of course, a close relative to the English word. As always, there are variations to this recipe. 

Ingredients:

3/4 pound small shrimp, peeled and cleaned
2 potatoes, peeled and cut into pieces
1/2 carrot, sliced
2 green onions (whole; that is, green and white), chopped
4 cups water
1/4 cup parsley
1/4 cup chopped chives
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup canned milk (reduced calorie is fine)
1/2 cup bacon, diced or chopped (I simply chopped some thick cut bacon slices)

Simmer the potatoes, carrot, parsley and green onions in the 4 cups of water until tender, then use a stick blender/immersion blender to puree the vegetables right in the cooking water, or put everything into a processor to puree the vegetables (then add all back to the pan). Add the butter and milk to the already warm liquid, and heat over low heat until hot, but not boiling. Meanwhile, saute the bacon and then drain it on paper towels. Add the bacon and shrimp to the soup, mix well and cook until the shrimp are tender (which is very quickly), season the soup with a little salt and top each serving with some chives.

* I "believe" in England and other parts of Britain, "shrimp" is the singular form and "shrimps" is the plural form, but in the U.S. (not sure about Canada), we often use "shrimp" as both singular and plural. So we often say, "Add the shrimp to the soup," but that could mean one shrimp or 50. It is rare to hear "shrimps" used in American English; at least, in my experience. It is often the same with the word "crab," although you are much more apt to hear "crabs" as the plural; at least, at times.

With some German "Vollkornbrot" (whole grain bread)...

WORD HISTORY:
Pond/Pound-"Pond" is simply a variation of the word "pound," the form meaning, "an enclosed place," as in "dog pound." Its distant history is unknown, but it goes back to the Old English verb "pyndan," which meant, "to dam up, to close off," and to the noun, "pynd," "a small lake, man made storage area for water." "Pynd" then became "pund," also taking on the meaning, "enclosure for animals," and the spelling later became "pound" for the "animal enclosure" meaning, and "pond" for "body of water." While there is no clear size for the body of water, "pond" usually indicates a small body of water, although the expression "across the pond" began use in the American colonies as a meaning for the Atlantic Ocean in the mid 1600s. The verb "to pond," and meaning "to accumulate water to form a pond or a puddle," came from the noun. "Pound" also provided the basis for "impound," a word originally used to mean, "to put confiscated cattle or horses into a closed off area" (in about 1450?), but today used with the same general meaning, but typically for confiscated vehicles.      

Creamy Potato & Leek Soup

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 leek stalk, white and lighter green, chopped *
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup carrot, diced
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon canola oil
32 ounces chicken stock (I use low sodium)
1 12 ounce can evaporated milk
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon parsley 
crispy bacon, crumbled for topping (I happened to only have slab bacon in the refrigerator, so I cut it into cubes, before frying it, so use what you have)

In a pan over medium low heat, add the butter and oil, then add the garlic. Let cook about 30 seconds, then add the potatoes, carrot, and leek. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking, and to avoid much browning, but let cook a few minutes, until the vegetables begin to soften. Add the chicken stock, the salt and the pepper, stir well. Simmer gently until the carrot and potatoes are tender. Mix the flour with a couple of ounces of the milk, stir well to avoid lumps. Gradually drizzle the flour/milk mixture into the soup, stirring continuously, while trying to maintain the gentle simmer until the soup thickens a little. The soup is not intended to be super thick, but just slightly thickened. Let the soup cook for about a minute or so to take the raw flour taste out, then stir in the rest of the milk. Add the parsley and stir again. While the soup was simmering earlier, fry the bacon, drain on paper towels, then crumble it. Ladle the soup into bowls, sprinkle some crumbled bacon on top of each serving. By sprinkling the bacon on top, rather than cooking it with the soup, the soup itself will not carry the taste of the smoky bacon, giving you the taste of the vegetables and broth, but you still get the bacon taste when you scoop up a piece of the bacon. Kind of the best of both worlds.

* Leeks are a great vegetable, but you must cut them open and rinse them well to flush out any sand and dirt. Maybe I've just been lucky, but in more recent times, I don't see much sand/grit at all, while in the past, it was quite evident. Maybe the growing process in sandy soil has changed somewhat? Anyway, I just rinse them in sections under running water. Others recommend cutting the leek into pieces, fanning its layer a bit and soaking it in a bowl of cool water, moving the leek around to flush out the grit, which will then sink to the bottom. 

 

WORD HISTORY: 

Stalk-English has two words of this spelling, but this is the noun, with the most common meaning being, "the main stem of a plant." The word, distantly related to the noun "stall" (place for animals, small merchant stand), and to the verb "stall" (come to a standstill), goes back to Indo European "stel," which had the notion, "to stand something in place, to put or place." This gave its Old Germanic offspring, "stalon," meaning, "long wooden handle, wooden support pole." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "stalu," with the meaning "long handle, upright stake." This then became "stale" (pronounced "stahl-eh"), "upright ladder supports." It also still kept the meaning, "long handle," and the meaning "plant stem" also began to gradually become more common from the 1300s. The "k" was added, likely from the influence of Old Norse (a North Germanic cousin to English), seemingly as a diminutive (endings that add the meaning ''small(er), endearing"), making the spelling "stalke," with the "e" pronounced "eh." Forms in the other Germanic languages: German "Stiel" (handle, stem, stalk), Low German Saxon and Dutch "steel" (stem, stalk, shaft, handle), Danish "stilk" (stalk, stem), Icelandic "stillkur" (stem, stalk), Swedish "stjälk" (stalk, stem). I could not find forms in modern Norwegian or West Frisian.

Creamy Potato And Bacon Soup (Kartoffelsuppe mit Speck und Sahne)

According to the cookbook listed below, this recipe was developed in Westphalia (Westfalen) in Germany. While the recipe I have here is not exactly the same, the general pattern of the recipe is from, "Germany, a Culinary Tour," by Wolfgang W. Reichert, Sigloch Edition, 1986, republished 1994, Künzelsau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

Ingredients

1 lb. potatoes, peeled and diced
2 cups water, salted mildly
1 medium onion, diced
2/3 cup smoked bacon, diced
1 tablespoon butter + 1 tablespoon bacon rendered bacon fat
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon dried marjoram leaves
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt (can be cut or even omitted, as potatoes will be cooked in salted water)
6 oz. light cream or sour cream (reduced fat kind is fine)
parsley, chopped

In a skillet, begin to sauté the bacon in the melted butter over medium low heat. Then add the onion and cook until the onion begins to turn light brown. Add the flour and stir to form a roux, cooking for a couple of minutes, but do not allow the roux to really brown much. While this is all going on, heat the salted water and diced potatoes until the potatoes just begin to soften. Drain the potatoes, but save the water. Add the roux and skillet contents to the pan, keeping the pan on medium low heat. Gradually add the potato water, stirring and keeping the water very hot until it return to a low boil, to allow the roux to thicken the starchy potato water. Once the liquid as all been added and is boiling, return the potatoes to the pan, along with the marjoram, pepper, and any salt, if using. Simmer until the potatoes are done. Stir in the bacon, then add the cream or sour cream, stirring well to mix it in thoroughly. Just before serving add the parsley and stir a bit.

WORD HISTORY:
Garnish-The overall history of this word is hard to put together, and this is currently the best I have on it. "Garnish" is related to a number of English words, for example: "weir," the "ware" part of "beware," "wary," "warn," and "ward." It goes back to Indo European "wer," which had the notion of, "to cover, to protect, to shut," and then all of the extended meanings from these basic meanings. The Indo European root seemingly spawned variant forms in its Old Germanic offspring, with  "warnonan," being one of those, or "perhaps" the original Old Germanic source of the variant forms?  It had the meaning "to pay heed, to be cautious, to prepare for a threat, beware." This gave the Germanic dialect of Frankish "warnjan," with those same meanings, as well as the extended notion of "equip or supply to meet a threat or prepare to meet a threat." Old French absorbed the word from Frankish as "guarnir/garnir," the meaning of which emphasized the "supply, equip" notion of the Frankish meaning, but also retained the "pay heed" meaning as secondary. The "supply, equip" idea later expanded to also mean "to adorn," as well as, "to take up arms." The derived French form "garniss" was borrowed into English, seemingly as "garnischen/garnishen," and with the same meanings "take up arms, to adorn, to beautify." Later, the idea of "adorn" led to the meaning of "making the appearance of food more appealing with colorful additions, to decorate food." The other meaning of "garnish," having to do with putting a claim against a person's income, comes from the "pay heed" idea (a warning), as a notice was given, that funds would be withheld.

North German Soup: Schnüsch

Photo added January 22, 2017

"Schnüsch" is a soup from the "Angelland" region of Schleswig, one of the parts of the modern German state of "Schleswig-Holstein," but the making of this soup has now spread beyond its place of origin, including into nearby Denmark. "Angelland" simply means "Land of the Angles," and the Angles migrated, along with other Germanic tribal elements, especially many Saxons, to Britain, where they founded "England," the contracted English form, meaning, "Land of the Angles." There are various versions of this soup, but the one here is what I make, and it is a creamy vegetable soup, but with the addition of herring, a common fish of the north, where the Baltic Sea and the North Sea provide the source of this fish. The ham used in the northern region of Germany for this dish is  "Katenschinken," a style of ham from that general area, where the ham is salt cured and then cold smoked, before going through a drying process of many months. Since you aren't likely to have some Katenschinken stored away somewhere, you can use any kind of ham and I guarantee Beethoven's ghost won't visit you ... well, I pretty much guarantee that. Of course, if you hear the repeated sound of, "DOT DOT DOT DASH," it might be a good idea to see if you can get a hold of some Katenschinken for the next time you make this soup.

Schnüsch (North German Creamy Vegetable Soup)
For about 6 servings:

2 strips bacon, cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons of flour 
8 oz. sliced carrots (fresh or frozen)
8 oz. peas (frozen are great, canned not so much, because they are softened)
8 oz. green beans (frozen are great)
2 to 3 medium to large potatoes, cut into about quarter inch slices
1/2 cup ham, small cubes
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 cups milk 
pickled herring
parsley

Saute bacon until most fat is rendered, add 2 tablespoons butter (melt) to the bacon fat, stir in 6 tablespoons of  flour and cook for a minute or two to make a roux, but don't let the roux brown too much (I like this very thick, but you can use less butter and flour for a thinner soup). Meanwhile, in a separate pan, boil the potato and carrot slices until softened, but not falling apart. (Back to the roux) Add milk, a little at a time, stirring to avoid sticking, until all milk is incorporated and the liquid is somewhat thickened, add the sugar and salt and stir to mix in and dissolve. Stir in the peas and green beans, neither of which needs to cook a long time. Drain the potatoes and carrots (you can save some of the liquid, in case you want to thin the soup, or you can use more milk to do so), add to the soup and stir; likewise with the ham cubes. Add some parsley. Prior to serving, stir in some small pieces of pickled herring, giving the soup a minute to heat the herring, or you can just put the herring pieces on top of each serving. Many Germans serve the herring on the side.

NOTE: While the above recipe is my own adaptation, it is heavily based on the recipe in: "The Cuisines of Germany," by Horst Scharfenberg, Poseidon Press, New York, 1980.  

I put the herring pieces on top for this photo.
 
WORD HISTORY:
Herring-The ultimate origins of this word for a common fish are uncertain, but West Germanic, a branch of Old Germanic,^ had "heringaz," which was used for the fish name. This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "haering," which then became "hering," before the second "r" was added to give us the modern form. The Old Germanic form "might" be from the the color of the fish, and thus from Old Germanic "(k)hairaz," which meant "gray/grey." ^^ Forms in the other West Germanic languages, all used for the fish name, are: German "Hering," Low German Saxon "heren," West Frisian "hjerring," Dutch "haring."
  
^ English, German, Dutch, and West Frisian are all West Germanic, while Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic and Swedish are all from the North Germanic branch of Old Germanic. The East Germanic branch languages, like Gothic and Burgundian, died out. 

^^ If "herring" does come from Germanic "(k)hairaz," it would be a relative of English "hoar" and German "Herr," the word for "mister," but also meaning "sir," "gentleman," "master," "lord." For more: http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2009/01/some-lines-from-inaugural-address.html