Fiskefrikadeller — Danish fish cakes with remoulade

Prepare a food processor with a blade, a bowl, two large spoons, a nonstick frying pan about 28 cm in diameter with a flat base about 24 cm across, and a kitchen thermometer with a thin probe. The cod, egg and milk should be at refrigerator temperature, about 2–5°C. Run your fingers over the fillet, remove any bones with tweezers and pat the fish thoroughly dry with paper towels; weigh out 600 g of prepared fish. Cut the cod into cubes about 2 cm across. Chop the 60 g of onion very finely, into pieces no larger than 2–3 mm. Keep the fish, egg and milk refrigerated until you start processing.

Process the cod in two batches of 300 g, using short pulses, until finely and evenly chopped with small pieces of fish remaining. Do not process for a long time at high speed, so the mixture does not warm up. Transfer both batches to a bowl, add all 7 g of salt and stir vigorously with a spoon for about 2 minutes. The fish should noticeably thicken, become sticky and stretch with the spoon; this stage helps bind the milk later.

Add the whole cold egg, 30 g of flour, chopped onion and 0.5 g of pepper to the sticky cod. Mix thoroughly with a spoon, then add the 100 ml of cold milk in 3 batches, stirring until absorbed after each addition. The finished mixture should be soft and sticky, but a spoonful should hold a mound, not run like pancake batter. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Prepare the remoulade during this time; the mixture will thicken further as it rests.

Cut the 50 g of cauliflower and 40 g of carrot into very small pieces, about 3 mm. Put them in a small saucepan with a lid and add the 15 g of apple cider vinegar, 15 g of water, 5 g of sugar and 0.5 g of salt. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover and cook over low heat for about 4–5 minutes, stirring once halfway through. The vegetables should soften slightly but retain a little bite; do not cook them into a puree. Transfer to a wide plate with all the liquid left in the saucepan and cool for about 10–15 minutes to room temperature. Do not add warm vegetables to the mayonnaise and sour cream.

Finely chop the 60 g of thoroughly drained pickled cucumbers. In a bowl, combine the 80 g of mayonnaise, 60 g of sour cream, 10 g of Dijon mustard, 2 g of curry powder and 0.5 g of turmeric. Add the cucumbers and cooled vegetables with all the remaining liquid from the plate. Mix: the sauce should be thick, yellow and clearly speckled with finely chopped vegetables. Cover and refrigerate until serving. The entire batch of remoulade is intended for 4 servings.

After the full 30 minutes of chilling, divide the fish mixture into two equal parts; immediately return the second part to the refrigerator. Use the first part to make 6 cakes, each from about 70–72 g of raw mixture. Preheat the oven to 80°C to keep the first batch warm briefly. Heat the frying pan over medium heat and add 10 g of oil and 15 g of butter. When the butter foams but has not yet started browning, add portions of the mixture using two spoons lightly moistened with cold water. Shape each into an oval about 8 cm long, 6 cm wide and 1.5–2 cm thick. Place all 6 cakes in the pan with small gaps and without their edges touching; the water is only for moistening the spoons and should not drip into the pan.

Fry the cakes over medium-low heat for about 5–6 minutes without moving them, until the undersides are golden brown and release easily from the pan. Turn with a wide spatula and fry for another 5–6 minutes. Reduce the heat if the surfaces brown too quickly. Check the center temperature of the thickest cake by inserting the probe horizontally from the side: it should reach at least 75°C. If it is lower, fry for another 1–2 minutes at a time, turning again if needed, and check several cakes. The interior should be fully set, pale and juicy. Briefly drain the cooked cakes on paper towels, transfer to an ovenproof dish and keep in the oven while cooking the second batch, for at most about 15 minutes.

Carefully pour the remaining fat from the pan into a heatproof container and use paper towels to remove the browned bits. Add the remaining 10 g of oil and 15 g of butter. Take the second half of the mixture from the refrigerator, shape it into 6 cakes in the same way and fry for about 5–6 minutes on each side, adjusting the heat. Again, check that the center reaches at least 75°C, and extend frying by 1–2 minutes at a time if needed. Briefly drain the cooked batch on paper towels. The fat left in the pan or removed during draining is not served with the cakes.

Divide all 12 hot cakes among 4 plates, with 3 per person. Stir the chilled remoulade and serve alongside, allowing one quarter of the entire sauce per serving. The cakes are best served immediately, while the surface is still browned and the center soft. If you want to show the inside, cut one cake in half on the plate: the pale interior should be fine and cohesive, with small pieces of fish and onion.