Denmark has been basking in a glorious June heatwave this past week, hastening the annual migration cycle. ‘Summer Danes’ are a delicate subgenus of the species. We roam the planet’s warmer regions every year between September and May, absenting ourselves from Nordic noir winters. But mercury rising brings us home; and last week was the warmest early June week in recorded history. So I made my annual pilgrimage to our idyllic local fishing village, Gilleleje, at the northernmost tip of Zealand, a few dozen miles north of Copenhagen.
Though still gorgeous, Gilleleje isn’t what it used to be. Among its many glories, including its beautiful natural harbour, home to Denmark’s fourth-largest commercial fishing port, there was until three summers ago a truly wonderful old smokehouse. This place was a treasure trove of culinary delights. It produced herring, of course, done lots of ways. (A smoked herring is at its most perfect served in traditional Bornholm style – on good rye bread, with chives and radishes, crowned with a whole raw egg yolk).
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