CONTEST SALAD: Rothschild Herring Salad

ROTHSCHILD HERRING SALAD
Adapted by BumbleBeeBoogie from a recipe by the chef to the Rothschild family in Holland many years ago.

12 ounces of herring in wine sauce, drained, reserving 3 tablespoons of the wine liquid
1 bottle of pickled onions, reserving 2 tablespoon of the liquid
3 medium fresh beets, cooked
2 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled and chopped (toss in some lemon juice to preserve color)
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
1/2 spear of a large dill pickle, chopped
1 cup cooked cold diced meats (one or all combinations of veal, chicken, pork, beef)

Sauce:
1 to 2 tablespoons of the reserved wine sauce from the herring and pickled onions
1/4 to 1/3 cup of fine quality cherry marmalade (preferred) or strawberry marmalade
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Every diced or chopped ingredient should be about penny size for consistency.

The flavor should be piquant and the sweetness derived from the marmalade. The salad should be made moist by the sauce and not juicy. The beets bring forth the rosy color.

Combine every thing gently except for the sauce.

For the sauce, strain enough (start with 1 to 2 tablespoons) of the marmalade through a fine strainer and mix with some of the reserved wine sauce from the herring and pickled onions to make the piquant flavor. Gently mix into the salad. Serve the salad on a bed of fresh salad greens. Serves 6 to 8.