Thin, golden-brown potato cakes make a crisp base for tender smoked trout, fresh apple and a creamy horseradish and dill sauce. A hearty main course with just enough acidity and zing to balance the smoky fish.
This modern main course is all about contrast: warm potato cakes with crisp edges, cool trout with a smoky flavour, and apple for freshness and a little crunch. The sour cream, horseradish and dill sauce brings everything together without overpowering the fish. Use a firm, crisp apple; many Dutch varieties are at their best in autumn, but a crisp supermarket apple works well the rest of the year too.
For the cakes, the potato’s moisture content matters more than the exact variety. Floury or slightly starchy potatoes give a light interior and brown well; waxy potatoes make the cakes a little denser. Coarsely grate them so they retain some texture. Squeeze out the moisture firmly in a clean tea towel: wet grated potato is more likely to steam than fry, and can make the cakes soggy. Egg and a little flour help hold the mixture together, but too much flour makes the inside heavy.
A large frying pan and enough space between the cakes are essential. If the pan is too crowded, the temperature drops and the moisture has trouble escaping. So fry them in batches, and if you like, keep the first cakes warm on a rack in a low oven; on a plate, they soften more quickly from the steam underneath. Let them turn golden brown at their own pace before flipping them. That crust gives the potato flavour and stays intact more easily if you don’t try to loosen the cakes too soon.
Smoked trout is mild and delicate enough for the horseradish, but smoked mackerel also works if you want a bolder, fattier fish. If using mackerel, taste the sauce before adding extra salt. Fresh horseradish has a direct, sharp flavour; jarred horseradish is convenient and often milder, so add it to taste. No sour cream on hand? Use crème fraîche and stir in a small splash of water or lemon juice until the sauce is easy to spoon.
Serve the cakes straight away, slicing the apple at the last moment so it stays fresh and crisp. Put the sauce on the table separately or spoon it over the cakes, and loosely arrange the trout on top so the warm potato doesn’t take away the fish’s texture. Store any leftover cakes and toppings separately, covered, in the fridge; reheat the cakes in a hot oven or frying pan. Serve the trout and sauce cold.
Stir the sour cream, horseradish, lemon juice and about two thirds of the dill until smooth. Season with pepper and, if needed, a pinch of salt. Keep the sauce chilled while you fry the cakes.
Coarsely grate the potatoes. Put the grated potato in a clean tea towel and squeeze out as much moisture as possible. In a bowl, mix the potato with the egg, flour, salt and a few grinds of black pepper.
Heat a large frying pan over medium-high to high heat with some of the oil. Spoon four portions of the potato mixture into the pan and flatten them into thin cakes about 1 cm thick. Leave space between them; fry in several batches if needed.
Fry the cakes for 3–4 minutes per side, until golden brown and cooked through. Add more oil between batches if needed. Keep the cooked cakes warm on a rack in an oven at 100 °C while you fry the rest.
Slice the apple into thin wedges or strips just before serving. Divide the warm potato cakes among the plates, spoon over some sauce, and top with the smoked trout and apple. Finish with the remaining dill and serve the rest of the sauce on the side.
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