Herring in jelly, grandma's style

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 500 ml water
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 peppercorns
• 1 bay leaf
• some soup vegetables, chopped
• 1 onion(s), roughly diced
• 500 g fish(s) (green herring)
• 125 ml vinegar, just under
• some salt
• 1 egg white, 1 eggshell
• 3 tbsp water, cold
• 1 pack of gelatin powder
• 5 tbsp water, cold for mixing
• some carrot slices
• 1 egg(s), hard-boiled, sliced
• 1 large gherkin(s), sliced

Instructions

Working time approx. 45 minutes; Rest time approx. 2 hours; Cooking/baking time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 3 hours 15 minutes

Bring the water with salt, spices, vegetables, and onion to a boil over high heat, then simmer for 15 minutes over low heat. Then add the cleaned herring, bring to a boil, and simmer over low heat for 10-15 minutes until cooked through. Remove the fish from the broth, debone, and chill. Pour the broth through a sieve, measure out 3/8 liter (add water if necessary), and season with vinegar and salt. If the broth is very cloudy, clarify as follows: Defat the cooled broth. Beat the egg white, crushed eggshell, and water with a fork, add to the broth, and heat, whisking continuously, until just before boiling. This will cause the egg white to coagulate and bind the cloudy particles in the broth. Chill the broth and let it stand until clear. Then skim off any skimmed water and strain through a clean cheesecloth. Mix the gelatine with the water and let stand for 10 minutes to swell. Then bring the stock back to a boil over high heat, add the swollen gelatine and stir until dissolved. Pour enough stock into a dish rinsed with cold water to cover the bottom and allow to set. Decorate the set layer with carrot, egg, and cucumber slices and carefully pour a few tablespoons of stock over it. Allow to set again. Add the cooled herring, cut into pieces, and the rest of the slightly thickened stock to the now solid jelly and refrigerate for a while. When the jelly has set, carefully loosen it from the edge of the dish with a knife (you may need to hold the dish in hot water for a moment first!) and turn it out onto a plate.