Tuesday, June 09, 2009

Turning the Page on Tartar Sauce

You mean you're still using tartar sauce? What, does your favorite fish come frozen and breaded in a box that says "Gorton's", too? If you answered "yes" to either...not both I hope...then it's time to explore other avenues of fish-appropriate condimentia. I found this remoulade recipe from a great new cookbook that came out last year, "Fish Without A Doubt" by Rick Moonen and Roy Finamore. This book is filled with simple, well thought out recipes. Expect to see more from it here in the future. This spicy remoulade was the sauce for their Remoulade Salmon on the Grill, and it is fantastic. You slather both sides of skinless salmon fillets with the sauce before you throw them on the grill then serve the remaining sauce on the side. So rich and flavorful, with depth, spice, and complexity that you'll never get with tartar sauce. The harissa (either buy it at the store or use this fabulous recipe) that is added gives it a brilliant spark. It would work with any fish you'd pair with tartar sauce, only everything will taste so much better!
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Spicy Remoulade
from Fish Without A Doubt

ingredients:
1 cup mayonnaise
3 anchovy fillets
2 tbsp minced cornichons
1 tbsp nonpareil capers
Grated zest of 1/2 lemon
1-1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp Dijon mustard
6 dashes Tabasco
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley or chervil
2 tsp chopped fresh dill
1 tsp harissa
Coarse salt or freshly ground pepper

method:
Whisk the mayonnaise, anchovies, cornichons, capers, lemon zest and juice, mustard, Tabasco, parsley or chervil, dill, and harissa together in a bowl. Taste, and adjust the harissa for spiciness (I ended up adding almost another teaspoon-bb), keeping in mind that the heat will develop as the sauce sits. Season with salt and pepper.

Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour before serving. The remoulade will keep for at least a week.
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one year ago today @ E.D.T.: channeling Ernest Hemingway with this deliciously summery daiquiri cocktail!

3 comments:

Kathleen Bauer said...

Mmmm...mayonnaise! I had this very dish (the salmon & sauce) chez bb just last week and it was truly astonishing. Not oily, not clumpy, just delicious!

dds said...

Holy moley, I'd put this on my morning cereal. And it includes most of the food pyramid... excellent.

bb said...

kab....my favorite condiment in all it's oily forms! Glad you liked it!

dds.....especially if you were eating the new Kellogg's Tuna Bran Flakes!