Fiskefrikadeller med Persillesovs og Nye Kartofler

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Food processor
• •Heavy frying pan
• •Medium saucepan for the persillesovs
• •Large pot for the potatoes
• •Fish slice or wide spatula
• •Whisk

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the fiskefars

   Cut the cod into rough chunks and pulse them in a food processor until the fish is coarsely chopped but not a paste. You want texture, not baby food. Some pieces the size of a pea, some slightly larger. Add the egg, cold cream, flour, grated onion, chopped dill, lemon zest, salt, and a grind of white pepper. Pulse five or six more times until everything comes together into a soft, sticky mixture. The cream is what makes the fiskefrikadeller tender inside. The flour helps them hold their shape in the pan. Transfer to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate for at least thirty minutes. Cold fiskefars is far easier to shape and fries more evenly because it doesn't spread the instant it touches the heat.

   If you don't have a food processor, chop the fish very finely with a sharp knife. The result is slightly more rustic but works just as well. Danish grandmothers made fiskefars for a century before food processors existed.
2. 2

   Boil the potatoes

   While the fiskefars chills, put the scrubbed new potatoes in a large pot of cold salted water. Start them in cold water, not boiling. Cold water lets the heat reach the center gradually, so the outside doesn't fall apart before the middle cooks through. Bring to a gentle boil and simmer for fifteen to twenty minutes, depending on their size. They're done when a knife slides through the center without resistance at all. Don't overcook them. Nye kartofler should hold together on the plate, not crumble. Drain and set aside with the lid on to keep warm.

3. 3

   Shape the fiskefrikadeller

   Take the fiskefars from the fridge. Wet your hands under cold running water. This step matters: the mixture is naturally sticky, and dry hands will pull it apart instead of shaping it. Scoop a generous tablespoon of the mixture and form it into an oval patty about the size of your palm, slightly flattened. Not round like a meatball. The flat oval gives you more surface area for the golden crust, and that crust is where most of the flavor lives. Set each one on a plate as you go. You should get about twelve.

   Re-wet your hands every two or three fiskefrikadeller. The moment your palms start to drag against the mixture, the water has dried and the shaping gets difficult.
4. 4

   Fry the fiskefrikadeller

   Heat the butter and oil together in a heavy frying pan over medium heat. Butter alone burns before the fish cakes cook through. Oil alone gives no flavor. Together they give you the golden crust and the nutty richness that makes these taste like they should. When the butter foams and the foam begins to subside, lay the fiskefrikadeller in the pan without crowding them. Cook in two batches if you need to. Crowding drops the temperature and the fish cakes steam instead of frying. Give them three to four minutes on each side until deeply golden. Don't move them until they release from the pan on their own. That release tells you the crust has formed. Transfer to a warm plate and cover loosely while you make the sauce.

   Resist the urge to press them flat with the spatula. Pressing squeezes out the cream and dries the center. Let the heat do the work. The surface will tell you when it's time to turn.
5. 5

   Make the persillesovs

   In a clean medium saucepan, melt the butter over a gentle heat. Add the flour and stir it into the butter with a wooden spoon. Cook this roux for one minute, stirring constantly. You want it to bubble gently and smell faintly biscuity, not browned. A browned roux changes the sauce's flavor in a direction you don't want here. Now add the warmed milk in a slow, steady stream, whisking continuously as you pour. Adding the milk too quickly creates lumps. Adding it gradually while whisking gives you a smooth sauce every time. Bring to a gentle simmer and let it cook for five minutes, stirring often, until the sauce coats the back of the spoon thickly. Season with salt, white pepper, and a squeeze of lemon juice. Now, and only now, stir in the chopped parsley. Parsley added too early turns grey and loses its brightness. Added at the last moment, it stays vivid green and tastes like a garden.

   If the sauce feels too thick, add a splash more warm milk and whisk it in. Persillesovs should pour generously from a spoon, not sit in a lump on the plate.
6. 6

   Bring it to the table

   Divide the nye kartofler among four warm plates and drop a knob of butter on top. Let it melt. Arrange two or three fiskefrikadeller alongside and spoon the persillesovs generously over the fish cakes and potatoes both. Don't be timid with the sauce. It ties the whole plate together. Finish with a sprig of fresh dill and a lemon wedge on the side. This is a plate that wants to be eaten right away, while the sauce is warm and the fish cakes are still golden and crisp at the edges. Tak for mad.

Chef Tips

• •Use the freshest cod you can find. Ask your fishmonger for torsk that smells of the sea and nothing else. If the fish isn't good, the fiskefrikadeller won't save it. Good fish needs very little from you. Bad fish needs more than you can give.
• •Keep everything cold. The fish, the cream, the bowl. Cold fiskefars holds together in the pan. Warm fiskefars spreads into a flat disc and sticks to everything. If your kitchen is warm, set the bowl over ice while you mix.
• •Wet your hands before shaping each one. The mixture is sticky by design, and dry hands fight it. Wet hands let you work quickly and cleanly. Shape ovals, not rounds. The flat surface is where the golden crust forms, and that crust is where the flavor lives.
• •Add the parsley to the sauce at the very end, just before you pour it. Parsley cooked into a hot sauce for more than a minute turns grey and bitter. Stirred in at the last moment, it stays bright green and tastes of itself. The season decides what your parsley looks like, but it should always be fresh, never dried.

Advance Preparation

• •The fiskefars can be made a day ahead and kept covered in the fridge. The flavors deepen overnight and the mixture firms, making it easier to shape.
• •Shaped fiskefrikadeller freeze well on a parchment-lined tray. Once solid, transfer to a bag and freeze for up to two months. Fry from frozen, adding two extra minutes per side.
• •Persillesovs is best made fresh. If you must reheat, do so gently over low heat with a splash of warm milk to loosen. Add the chopped parsley only after reheating, not before.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 480g)