Nearly K-Salat — A Homemade Danish Remoulade Recipe

Around 1992, I was in Denmark on business — logistics, nothing glamorous. A colleague, Denis Hampson, had asked me to bring back a bottle of Danish remoulade.

What I found in the supermarket was a yellow plastic bottle. K-Salat. It looked like a condiment. I threw it in my bag and forgot about it entirely until I got home to England, where Lynda came running down the stairs holding it up and demanding to know who I'd bought the moisturiser for.

It was not moisturiser. It was the national condiment of Denmark. And it is, it turns out, one of the best things you can put on a piece of fish.

What Is Danish Remoulade?

Danish remoulade is not French remoulade. The French version — capers, cornichons, herbs, Dijon, mayonnaise — is sharp and herby and unmistakably Gallic. The Danish version is sweeter, yellower, milder, and built for everyday use. It goes on hotdogs (pølser), on fried plaice, on open sandwiches (smørrebrød), and on anything else that benefits from a creamy, tangy, slightly sweet sauce.

K-Salat is the brand Denis wanted. A yellow plastic bottle, ubiquitous in Danish supermarkets, instantly recognisable to anyone who has spent time in Scandinavia and utterly unknown to anyone who hasn't — including Lynda, who was briefly convinced I'd developed an unusual skincare routine.

This is my homemade remoulade version — not a precise replica of K-Salat, which leans sweeter and yellower than I'd make it, but something in the same spirit: creamy, mustardy, tangy, and considerably more useful than moisturiser.

The Wholegrain Mustard Sauce Base

The French use Dijon. The Danes use a milder, sweeter mustard. I've landed on wholegrain mustard — it has the texture and the tang without the sharpness of Dijon, and it gives this homemade remoulade a character that's closer to the Danish original than anything else I have at Casa Adora.

The capers, cornichons, red onion and spring onion add the texture that makes remoulade worth making rather than buying. The ACV gives it acidity without the harshness of white wine vinegar. A pinch of turmeric shifts the colour toward the K-Salat yellow — not essential, but honest to the original. White pepper rather than black — it sits cleaner in a pale sauce.

This wholegrain mustard sauce recipe doubles as a general condiment — with fish, with cold meats, with crudités, with leftover roast chicken. I made it the same evening as Cod Loin Poached in Early-Harvest Olive Oil on Black Beans and it turned out to be exactly what that dish needed. Denis would approve. Mr Hampster probably would too.

Ingredients

(Makes one jar — keeps refrigerated for up to a week)

• 4 tbsp good quality mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tbsp capers, roughly chopped
• 3–4 cornichons, finely chopped
• ½ small red onion, very finely diced
• 2 spring onions, finely sliced
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• Small pinch of turmeric
• Sea salt and white pepper to taste

Method

Combine the mayonnaise, wholegrain mustard, garlic, turmeric and ACV in a bowl and stir until smooth. Fold in the capers, cornichons, red onion and spring onion. Season with sea salt and white pepper. Taste and adjust — more mustard for sharpness, more ACV for tang.

Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving. The flavours settle and improve considerably overnight.

Chef's Notes

K-Salat is sweeter than this version — a teaspoon of sugar would take it closer to the original if that's what you're after. The turmeric and cornichons are already in here — they're not optional, they're the dish.

Denis Hampson got his bottle of K-Salat. I handed it over on my first day back at the office. He was once memorably called Mr Hampster by a customer on the phone — which, given he was holding a yellow bottle of Danish condiment at the time, felt appropriate.

White pepper throughout. It's a pale sauce and black pepper specks are the wrong look and the wrong flavour.

Keeps for up to a week in the fridge in a sealed jar.

This danish remoulade is featured in my Nearly Series hub — homemade versions of the condiments worth making yourself.
It also features in my Sauces, Salsas & Dressings hub.
Find more recipes and food adventures here.
Wonky photos, proper food, genuine adventures — The Flexible Chef