Tag: weever

The Art of Sauces: Remoulade

27 August 2026

A few months ago we read an article in a Dutch wine magazine about pairing wine with a combination of fried cod, remoulade and a small salad. A nice challenge given the acidity in both the salad and the sauce plus the richness of the fried fish.

Remoulade is a sauce that goes very well with cold meat and fried or smoked fish. It combines mayonnaise with mustard, cornichons, capers, lemon and various herbs. Additional ingredients include anchovies, shallot and horseradish. Herbs could be parsley, tarragon, chives and chervil.
Turn it into a traditional French starter by adding celeriac (celery root).

One of the first recipes for remoulade (actually two recipes) was published in London in 1733 by Vincent La Chappelle, chef to the Earl of Chesterfield, in volume 1 of his book The Modern Cook.  Both versions contain oil, shallot, garlic, lemon, parsley, mustard, cullis (meat broth) and capers. Other ingredients of the first version (hot remoulade) are gravy, wine and cloves. Additional ingredients of the second version are green onions and anchovies.

Wine Pairing

According to the magazine’s wine expert the flavours in the dish are round and filming. The expert suggests a white wine with some oak or a white wine from a warmer country. We decided to drink a glass of  Verdejo made by Castelo de Medina with 100% verdejo grapes. The wine is well balanced, fresh and full bodied. It has a delicate bitterness which works very well with all components in the dish.

What You Need
  • Remoulade
    • 200 ml Mayonaise
    • teaspoon of Mustard
    • 2 Cornichons
    • teaspoon of Capers (in brine)
    • ½ small Shallot
    • Lemon Juice
    • 2 tablespoons of mixed herbs (Parsley, Chervil and Chives)
  • Fish
    • Cod, Hake, Haddock, Weever or another firm white fish
    • one Egg
    • Chapelure
  • Salad
    • Mâche, Mesclun
    • dressing made with olive oil, lemon and mustard
What You Do
  1. Remoulade
    1. Make the mayonnaise
    2. Very finely chop the shallot
    3. Dry and slice the cornichons and the capers
    4. Chop the herbs
    5. Combine all ingredients
    6. Add lemon juice to taste
    7. Transfer to the refrigerator for a few hours
  2. Fish
    1. Beat the egg
    2. Heat a non stick pan
    3. Add oil to the pan
    4. Coat the fish with egg
    5. Coat the fish with chapelure
    6. Fry the fish until golden
  3. Dish
    1. Make a dressing by combining olive oil. lemon and mustard
    2. Toss the salad with the dressing
    3. Serve the fried fish with the remoulade and the salad
PS

Comparing the list of ingredients used by Chef La Chapelle you wil notice that modern remoulade doesn’t contain garlic or cullis. He didn’t use mayonnaise for the simple reason that the first recipe for mayonnaise was published in 1828, nearly one hundred years later.

Remoulade ©cadwu made with mayonnaise, capers, lemon, cornichons, parsley, chervil, chives and mustard
The Modern Cook by Vincent La Chapelle

Weever

10 November 2022

Fish and Chips, such a tasty combination, especially when the fish is fried with beer-based batter and served with triple-cooked chips, mushy peas and tartare sauce. Commonly it is made with cod or haddock. We prefer haddock because of its flavour and more importantly its texture. Both haddock and cod are expensive and in these days of high inflation we are keen to find a cheap alternative.

That’s why we recently tried this dish with weever, also known as Pieterman in Dutch and Vive in French. We were not disappointed, not at all. Excellent texture, taste a bit stronger compared to haddock but nevertheless yummy.
Weever is actually a really interesting fish. Weevers hide in the sand, waiting for prey. Their defence is based on a poisonous dorsal fin which makes it very painful when you step on it or want to get gold of them. Therefore it is unpopular with anglers, making it bycatch. And because of that, weever is not expensive. Great combination: save money and enjoy delicious food!

Drink Pairing

A nice, cold beer will go very well with this dish. Wine wise the choice is yours: unoaked Chardonnay, Semillon, dry Riesling, Rueda, Chenin Blanc or Picpoul de Pinet. The wine must be fresh, a touch citrussy and have balanced acidity.

What You Need
  • For the Haddock, Cod or Weever
    • Boneless Fillet
    • All Purpose Flour
    • Breadcrumbs (see below)
    • Egg
    • Butter
    • Olive Oil
    • Black Pepper
  • For the Pickled Radish
    • Red Radishes
    • Shallot
    • White Wine Vinegar
    • Sugar
  • Mayonnaise
What You Do – Pickled Radish
  1. Take a cup of white wine vinegar, add it to a bowl, add sugar, perhaps some water (depending on the acidity of the vinegar), mix very well and taste
  2. The mixture should be both sweet and sour
  3. Slice the radishes and the shallot
  4. Add to the mixture, stir and leave in the refrigerator for a few hours
  5. Over time the colours will blend
  6. The vegetables will keep well for a few days
  7. Feel free to use the same approach with other (firm) small vegetables
What You Do – Haddock, Cod or Weever
  1. Pat the fillet dry with kitchen paper
  2. Check if there are really no bones
  3. Take three plates, one with flour, one with beaten egg, one with breadcrumbs
  4. Coat the fillet with flour, then dip it into the egg mixture and finally coat with the crumbs
  5. Fry in hot butter (with olive oil) until lovely golden brown
  6. Serve immediately on a warm plate
What You Do – Breadcrumbs
  1. Also known as chapelure
  2. Use old, stale but originally very tasty bread. Obviously, we use our home-made bread
  3. Toast the bread and let cool
  4. Cut in smaller bits and then use a cutter or blender to make the crumbs
  5. They keep very well in the freezer, so best to make in advance, when you have some left over bread
Haddock ©cadwu
Animal_drawings_collected_by_Felix_Platter