Lightly salted cod fillets

with beetroot rösti and horseradish cream. Fish has always been a main staple in all of the Scandinavian countries. The many streams and rivers and the long coastal exposure made the supply of fish plentiful. 

  • There is new insight into what might account for the longevity of our friends and relatives who live near the sea and eat a lot of fish. Here's a lightly salted cod fillet with beetroot rösti and horseradish cream - link to recipe in the story.

  • Lightly salted cod fillets with beetroot rösti and horseradish cream
    Serves 4

  • 600–800 g cod fillets
    200 ml sea salt
    50-100 ml white wine
    250 ml water
    200 ml leek, coarsely chopped
    4 white peppercorns

  • beetroot rösti
    100 ml plain flour
    200 ml milk
    1 egg
    1 tsp salt
    4 large potatoes, finely grated
    4 large beetroots, finely grated
    2 tbsp butter

  • horseradish cream
    200 ml crème fraiche
    1 tsp French mustard
    1 tsp grated horseradish
    salt and white pepper

  • vegetable strips
    1 carrot, in long thin strips
    1/2 leek, in long thin strips
    4 slices bacon

  • Cut the cod fillet in 4 pieces and rub in the salt. Refrigerate for 2 hours. Rinse the fish. Boil the wine, water, leek and white peppercorns in a casserole with low sides. Put in the fish and let sit with the lid on until it is white in colour, 8–10 minutes.

  • beetroot rösti
    Mix flour, milk, egg and salt. Fold in the grated potato and beetroot. Brown the butter in a frying pan and fry 4 plate-sized cakes. They should be crispy and golden but a bit soft in the middle. Keep warm until serving.

  • horseradish cream
    Mix all the ingredients for the cream and add more horseradish if desired.

  • vegetable strips
    Blanch the vegetable strips quickly in lightly salted boiling water. Then roast them in a hot frying pan. Fry the bacon crunchy.

  • Plate the rösti alongside the vegetable strips. Plate the fish with a slice of bacon on it. Drizzle the horseradish cream over top.

  • [Another good way to salt fish is to mix 70 g of salt in 1 litre of water, put in the fish and let sit for 8 minutes.]