Dansk Remoulade

There is no Danish kitchen without remoulade. It sits in the fridge door in a jar, always half-used, always ready. You reach for it the way you reach for salt: without thinking, because the meal isn't complete without it.

Remoulade is a mayonnaise, but calling it that misses the point. The French made a sauce and gave it a name. The Danes took the name, added pickles and capers and a breath of curry powder, turned it golden, and made it theirs. It goes on smorrebrod. It goes beside fiskefrikadeller, those pan-fried fish cakes that every Danish child eats on weeknights. It goes on the hot dog from the polsevogn, the red sausage cart on the corner that smells of mustard and fried onions. It goes beside stegt flaesk with parsley sauce. It belongs everywhere, and it makes everything it touches a little more Danish.

I want you to make it from scratch, because the homemade version is better than anything you'll buy, and the technique is simpler than you think. The only step that requires your full attention is building the mayonnaise: adding the oil slowly, a few drops at a time at first, so the emulsion holds. After that, it's just chopping and folding. Give it an hour in the fridge before you serve it. The resting changes everything. You'll taste it and you'll understand.