Crisp cod with anchovies, capers and crunchy salad

A nod to Copenhagen and its imaginative food scene. My favourite meals there a couple of years ago happened to be when standing up; hopping from loaded Danish hotdogs to a trio of tacos at Hija De Sanchez in the Meatpacking district, and sampling the breaded plaice smørrebrød at Torvehallerne market. The cod is paired with fresh, cool and zingy flavours that remind me of Copenhagen so well, and of course plenty of dill. 

| Serves 4 |

INGREDIENTS

For the crisp cod

50g plain (all-purpose) flour

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 medium eggs

1 tsp dijon mustard

100g breadcrumbs 

4 x 150g cod fillets

65g salted butter

4 tbsp capers, drained and rinsed

4 anchovy fillets, chopped

Handful dill sprigs

Squeeze lemon

For the crunchy salad in vinaigrette

 4 stalks celery, thinly sliced

8 radishes, thinly sliced 

1/2 lemon

1 tbsp honey

1 shallot, finely diced

Flaked sea salt 

2 tsp dijon mustard 

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 

METHOD

For the dressing, squeeze the lemon in a bowl and add the honey, 1 tsp flaked sea salt and the shallot. Leave for 15 minutes and up to an hour. Whisk in the olive oil and dijon, checking for seasoning. Add the celery, radishes and dill to the vinaigrette.

Evenly season the cod with salt on both sides and leave covered for 15 minutes. Whisk the eggs with a pinch of salt and pepper and the dijon mustard. Pour the flour and breadcrumbs evenly onto two separate plates. 

Pat dry the cod with some cloth or kitchen paper. Roll the cod in the seasoned flour, making sure it is evenly coated, but shake off any excess flour. Then dip each piece into the egg until coated. Drain off the excess egg and turn the fillets into the crumbs until completely coated. Repeat with the remaining fillets.

Heat half of the butter over a med-high heat in a large frying pan until bubbling. Fry the fillets for 3 minutes on each side until golden and crisp. Place them on a plate.

Wipe the pan and heat the remaining butter until bubbling, then fry the capers and anchovies over a high heat for a few minutes. Remove from the heat and squeeze over the lemon juice.

Serve each fillet with the salad vinaigrette on top, sprinkled with the fried capers, anchovies and brown butter and another sprig of dill.