I haven't seen finnan haddie for years. But big herring have just turned up in the supermarket, so I've been eating soused herring for a week. I got the shop to scale and fillet the fish.

Put a bay leaf and half a slice of onion on the tail end of each fillet, and roll it up, securing with a couple of cocktail sticks. Put in an ovenproof dish, sprinkle with pickling spices and cover with a mix of half malt vinegar, half water. Cook at 180 degrees C for about 30 minutes. Cool and keep in the fridge for up to a week. (Actually, I slow cooked mine.) Have the windows open. The entire house smells of vinegar.

Eat with salad - watercress is good - mashed up on toast works too.

Penny