History

Finkenwerder Scholle is named for Hamburg's Finkenwerder peninsula on the southern Elbe, historically the city's fishing-cutter base. The plaice-with-bacon combination dates to the late 19th century when Finkenwerder's fishing community paired the day's catch with the island's smoked pork. The dish is at its peak in May when the young Maischolle arrives at Hamburg's fish markets. Today Deichgraf on Deichstrasse, Fischereihafen Restaurant on the Altona working harbour and Anno 1905 in Finkenwerder all serve the canonical version with bacon sauce, brown shrimp and boiled potatoes through plaice season.

Common allergens: Fish, Crustacean, Gluten

Make it at home

Yield 2Hands-on 25 minTotal 35 minDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 2 whole gutted plaice, 400g each, scaled
  • 100g streaky smoked bacon (Speck), diced small
  • 100g cooked North Sea brown shrimp (Krabben)
  • 50g plain flour
  • 60g unsalted butter, plus extra to finish
  • 2 tbsp neutral oil
  • 1 lemon, halved
  • Small handful flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
  • 600g waxy potatoes, peeled and halved
  • Sea salt, freshly ground black pepper

Method

  1. Boil the potatoes in well-salted water until just tender, 18 minutes. Drain, return to the pan, cover and keep warm.
  2. Pat the plaice dry. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Dredge in flour, shaking off the excess.
  3. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large heavy pan over medium-high. Lay each plaice in dark-side up; fry for 4 minutes until the underside is deeply golden.
  4. Add 40g butter to the pan; flip the fish and baste for another 3 to 4 minutes until the flesh just lifts from the bone. Lift to warm plates.
  5. Tip out the oil. Add the diced bacon to the same pan; render over medium heat until crisp and the fat is amber, about 5 minutes.
  6. Add the remaining 20g butter; toss in the brown shrimp just to warm through, 30 seconds.
  7. Spoon the bacon-shrimp sauce over and around each plaice. Scatter the parsley and squeeze over a wedge of lemon. Serve with the parsley potatoes.
  8. Pour any extra brown butter from the pan over the potatoes at the table.

Tip from the editors. At its peak in May with Maischolle at Hamburg's fish market; outside the May to October plaice season, ask the fishmonger for North Sea cutter-fleet plaice.

Where to eat finkenwerder scholle

Finkenwerder Scholle in Hamburg

Deichgraf ★ 4.2

German€€neustadt

Deichgraf on the historic Deichstrasse in Hamburg cooks classical Hanseatic dishes on the city's oldest canal-side street, with a single beam.

Why locals love it: On the Deichstrasse canal-side row rebuilt after the 1842 fire, that most tourists walk past.

Tip: Window tables face the Nikolaifleet canal. Ask for the Labskaus with the original Rollmops topping.

Deichstrasse 23, 20459 Hamburg

Fischereihafen Restaurant ★ 4.3

Hanseatic Seafood€€€altona

Fischereihafen Restaurant on Grosse Elbstrasse in Hamburg-Altona has cooked classical Hanseatic seafood since 1981, with daily catch from the harbour below.

Order: The Hamburger Aalsuppe; the Pannfisch with mustard sauce.

Tip: Window-row tables face the Elbe; ask at booking. Open daily 11:30-22:00.

Grosse Elbstrasse 143, 22767 Hamburg Book →

Fischmarkt Altona ★ 4.7

Market€altonaSun 15 Mar to 14 Nov 05:00-09:30; 15 Nov to 14 Mar 07:00-09:30

Fischmarkt Altona on Grosse Elbstrasse in Hamburg has run every Sunday morning since 1703 and is the city's defining harbour market, with 70,000 weekly.

Tip: Arrives 05:00 in summer, 07:00 in winter; closes by 09:30 sharp. Auctioneer banter is the show.

Grosse Elbstrasse 9, 22767 Hamburg

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