Although remoulade was invented in France, I always think of it as Danish because when I was a kid, my Danish mom always had a tube of it from Denmark for making smørrebrød - a delicious open-faced sandwich made with a variety of ingredients. It is also used for fish meatballs and fried fish like I did with the pan roasted grouper.
Other countries have their own form of remoulade and use it on different dishes. For example in Iceland Remoulade is a condiment served with hot dogs and in the Netherlands and Germany it is served with fried fish. In Belgium you may find it as a condiment for french fries. Other places you may even hear it called a tartar sauce.
There are many variations of remoulade but they usually all are prepared with mayonnaise as a base. The French combine mayonnaise with mixed herbs, capers, cornichons and a little chopped anchovy fillets.
My little Danish Open Sandwiches cookbook written by Mette Herborg, given to me years ago by my mother, has remoulade made with hard-boiled and raw eggs, French mustard, wine vinegar, capers, tarragon, chives, parsley, gherkin pickles and pickled cucumbers.
The remoulade you see pictured in the photo is not the Danish version. I needed something quick and easy so I found a simpler version by Paula Deen. I think you will find it very good and very quick to make on those weeknights when you are struggling to get a meal on the table.
Remoulade Recipes
Ingredients:
- For the Danish Remoulade
- 2 hard-boiled egg yolks
- 1 raw egg yolk
- 2/3-cup olive oil
- 1-teaspoon mild French mustard
- Salt & Pepper
- 1 teaspoon wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon capers
- Fresh tarragon
- Fresh chives, finely cut
- Fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 1 small pickled gherkin, finely chopped
- 1 chopped hard-boiled egg white
- 1 small piece of pickled cucumber, finely chopped
- For the Quick Remoulade
- 1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 1/3 cup green onions, both white and green parts, chopped
- ¼ cup capers with some caper juice
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1-cup commercial mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
How To Make At Home:
For the Danish Remoulade
It says to "pound" the hard-boiled egg yolks together with a few drops of the wine vinegar. I'm not sure what that exactly means. Does she mean with a mortar and pestle? Or does she mean to mix vigorously?
Next you stir in the raw egg yolk, French mustard and salt & pepper. Slowly add the oil while whisking to make a mayonnaise. So I guess this means you can combine the hard-boiled egg yolks, mustard and salt & pepper to commercial mayonnaise and go from there. However, I like the idea of making your own mayonnaise.
Add the finely chopped herbs, capers, pickled gherkin and stir. You now have a Danish Remoulade or at least one version.
For the Quick Remoulade
Blend the parsley, green onions, capers and garlic in a blender or food processor.
Add mayo, olive oil, lemon juice and mustard. Give it a whirl to blend well.
Remove from blender and chill in refrigerator until you are ready to serve. Paula Deen says this will last for a couple of weeks in the refrigerator if covered and stored properly.
Besides fish, you might enjoy this condiment on leftover chicken or how about to make chicken salad. I'll have to give that a try.
