Kibbeling met Ravigotesaus

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy pot or braadpan, 24cm or larger
• •Deep-fry thermometer
• •Wire rack set over a tray
• •Spider or slotted spoon

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the sauce

   Stir the mayonnaise, creme fraiche, augurken, capers, shallot, parsley, chives, mustard, pickle brine, lemon juice, and a little black pepper together in a bowl. Taste before adding salt; capers and pickles have already done half the work. Let the sauce sit while you fry the fish, because a ravigote that has rested for twenty minutes tastes like a sauce rather than a meeting of chopped things.

   Chop the pickles and capers small enough that the sauce clings to the fish. Large pieces slide off, and then you are just chasing garnish around a plate.
2. 2

   Dry the fish

   Pat the cod very dry with kitchen paper, then season it with half the salt. Put the 50g flour in a shallow bowl and toss the fish pieces lightly through it, shaking off every excess clump. This dry coat is the little handshake between fish and batter; skip it and the batter may slip off in the oil.

3. 3

   Mix the batter

   Pour the oil into a heavy pot and heat it to 180C. While it heats, whisk the 120g flour, cornflour, baking powder, remaining salt, white pepper, and paprika together. Pour in the ice-cold sparkling water or pilsner and stir only until no dry pockets remain. A few small lumps are welcome. A batter beaten smooth becomes tough, which is very clever work for a worse result.

4. 4

   Fry in batches

   Dip a handful of floured fish pieces into the batter, let the extra drip back into the bowl, and lower them carefully into the oil. Fry in small batches for 3 to 4 minutes, turning once, until the coating is deep golden and the fish flakes cleanly inside. Keep the oil near 180C; crowded oil cools, and cool oil makes heavy kibbeling. The fish is done when the centre reaches 63C or flakes opaque under a fork.

5. 5

   Drain and serve

   Lift the kibbeling onto a wire rack set over a tray, not straight onto paper, so the underside stays crisp. Salt lightly while it is still glossy from the oil. Serve at once with the ravigotesaus and lemon wedges if you like. This is fish-stall food, so the proper table manners are simple: take a piece, drag it through the sauce, and do not wait too long.

Chef Tips

• •Cod is traditional, but the standard is fresh, firm white fish, not a sacred species. Haddock, pollock, or coley can make excellent kibbeling, especially when cod is expensive or poorly sourced.
• •Frozen cod is no disgrace. Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator, then dry it fiercely. Wet fish throws water into the batter and the oil, and the dish goes from crisp to soggy before it reaches the plate.
• •Keep the batter cold until the last moment. Cold batter meeting hot oil gives you the light shell that fish stalls do so well; warm batter drinks oil like a sponge.
• •Use a thermometer if you own one. Dutch cooking is practical, not mystical, and 180C is the difference between golden kibbeling and greasy penance.
• •The tide sets the menu, and so does the fishmonger. In colder months cod is at its best, but on a weeknight I would rather have good pollock than tired cod wearing an expensive name.

Advance Preparation

• •The ravigotesaus can be made up to two days ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator; stir before serving and add a squeeze of lemon if it tastes sleepy.
• •The fish can be cut and salted up to four hours ahead, then kept cold and covered. Pat it dry again before flouring.
• •Mix the dry batter ingredients ahead if you like, but add the cold sparkling water or pilsner only just before frying. Fried kibbeling is best eaten immediately.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 280g)