Homemade Tartare Sauce
In my opinion, you can’t have homemade fish cakes or fish sticks without a good tartare sauce. But the jars of tartare sauce at the supermarket are always a bit of a disappointment - they’re usually far too vinegary and there’s never enough of the good stuff in there. Well, it turns out that making your own takes less than 10 minutes and it’s infinitely better than anything you’ll find in a jar!
The base of the sauce is mayonnaise (shop bought is absolutely fine - no one is judging you for not whipping up your own mayo on a Tuesday evening), and then it’s really just a case of chopping and stirring. The capers and cornichons give it that briny, salty kick, the shallot adds a little bite and the lemon juice cuts through the richness of the mayo.
This recipe makes a good sized bowl of tartare sauce and it’ll keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. If anything, I think it tastes even better the day after making, once all of the flavours have had time to get to know each other.
And don’t feel like you have to save it for fish, either. It’s gorgeous dolloped onto roast potatoes, spread into a fish finger sandwich, or as a dip for chips!
Homemade Tartare Sauce
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Serves: 8 servings
Serving size: 31g
Calories per serving: 84
Fat per serving: 8.6g
Ingredients
- 6 tbsp mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp capers, drained and roughly chopped
- 4 cornichons, finely chopped
- 1 small shallot, finely diced
- Juice of 1/2 a lemon
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- Small handful of fresh dill (finely chopped)
- Black pepper to season
Method
- Start by finely chopping the capers, cornichons and shallot. The smaller you chop everything, the better the sauce will hold together, so take your time here.
- Add the mayonnaise and Dijon mustard to a small mixing bowl and stir together.
- Next, stir in the chopped capers, cornichons and shallot until everything is evenly mixed through.
- Squeeze in the lemon juice and add the chopped dill, then give it all one final mix.
- Have a taste and season with a little black pepper. If you like your tartare sauce a little sharper, add an extra squeeze of lemon.
- Serve straight away, or cover and keep in the fridge until needed.
