I really love Scandi food, and I’m lucky enough to have a Swedish friend who’s a fabulous cook,and has introduced us to lots of lovely Scandi dishes.
I’ve also visited Helsinki at the height of crayfish season – something I’d thoroughly recommend.
One of my favourite London haunts is Scandi Kitchen, a treasure trove of Scandi food tucked away in Fitzrovia. The same folk have this week opened another cafe and deli outlet in Victoria and I can’t wait to visit it.
And to cap it all, a fabulous cookbook was published last month by Ryland Peters & Small: Smørrebrød by Brontë Aurell. Brontë is the owner of Scandi Kitchen, and has 16 years experience of supplying the most amazing open sandwiches to customers, so she knows her Scandi food!
At £16.99 for a hardback with lovely photos by Peter Cassidy, it has over 50 recipes for Scandinavian open sandwiches – from the traditional to modern.
The book uncovers the secret to making delicious open sandwiches and easily whipping up a light and healthy lunch or snack. It provides all you need to know to create amazing open sandwiches and it will inspire you to try new flavours at home. It also includes a brief history of Scandinavian open sandwiches and lots of invaluable hints and tips.
Perfectly timed for a long weekend, here are a few recipes to tempt you to buy a copy of the book.
KARRYSILD / CURRIED HERRING
Curried herring is probably the number one herring flavour in Denmark. It sounds peculiar to other nations that one should add pickled herring to a curried dressing, but somehow, this really does work well.
salted butter, for spreading
2 slices of rye bread, or 4 smaller slices
a handful of watercress or rocket
½ apple, thinly sliced
2 radishes, thinly sliced
1 boiled egg, cooked to the jammy stage, i.e., slightly soft in the middle
micro herbs, to garnish
CURRIED HERRING
½ apple, peeled and finely chopped
1–2 gherkins, chopped
1 tablespoon capers, chopped
½ red onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon mild curry powder
½ teaspoon turmeric (optional, for colour)
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
100 ml crème fraîche or sour cream
50 ml mayonnaise
150 g plain pickled Scandinavian herring (drained weight), cut into 2.5-cm/1-inch pieces
salt and freshly ground black pepper
MAKES 2
First make the curried herring. Add the apple, gherkins, capers and onion to a bowl and stir in the curry powder, turmeric (if using), mustard, crème fraîche, mayonnaise, ½ teaspoon salt and some pepper. Add the herring, cover and transfer to the fridge for a few hours for the flavours to develop.
Butter the bread and arrange the watercress or rocket on top. Add the curried herring, followed by the sliced apple and radishes. Top each sandwich with half an egg, then garnish with micro herbs.
VEGGIE VERSION Replace the herring with Mushroom Quickle.
RÄKMACKA / SWEDISH-STYLE PRAWNS
Ask any Nordic person, mostly Swedes, about the traditional prawn sandwich and they will most often associate it with boat trips to neighbouring countries. Big open sandwiches loaded with delicious fresh North Sea prawns, are a total abundance of the sea. These are a meal in themselves – so if you’re lucky enough to have access to a lot of fresh prawns and you want a treat lunch, this is the one to make.
I’ll bet that no matter how many prawns you add to this, most homesick Swedes would still feel the need to add more. This is the only time where Swedes do not adhere to a lagom amount of something! Lagom means ‘not too much, not too little – just right – always in balance and never over the top’ as is the Swedish way.
salted butter, for spreading
2 slices of Swedish flat bread or white bread of your choice
a few lettuce leaves
2 hard-boiled eggs
50 ml mayonnaise
150 g cooked prawns (the prawns are the star here)
a few strips of cucumber
1 baby radish, thinly sliced
salt and freshly ground black pepper
pea shoots, to garnish
lemon wedges, to serve
piping bag
MAKES 2
Butter the bread and place the lettuce leaves on top.
Slice the eggs using an egg slicer. Place an egg on each sandwich and fan out on one side of the bread.
Using a piping bag, pipe a generous dollop of mayonnaise in the middle, then pile the prawns on the sandwiches. Top with another dollop of mayonnaise and season with salt and pepper.
Top with the cucumber strips and sliced radish. Garnish with pea shoots, then serve with lemon wedges for squeezing over.
ÄGG OCH KAVIAR / EGG & AVOCADO WITH ROE SPREAD
This is probably the most famous breakfast sandwich in Sweden. Although this would not be described as a true open sandwich, it deserves a mention as it is delicious and so easy to make – and I see no reason why it can’t be enjoyed all day long. In fact, at our café we serve it on our lunch menu from time to time (both with or without avocado, and most often using a plain boiled egg instead of poached). The roe is Kalles Kaviar, a Swedish favourite, and hugely popular in our shop.
salted butter, for spreading
2 slices of rye bread, or 4 smaller slices (you can use any bread you like – although if you use crispbread, it can be hard to eat this using a knife and fork)
2 just-ripe avocados, halved and stoned
2–4 tablespoons Kalles Kaviar (Swedish caviar spread)
1 tomato, sliced (optional)
4 boiled eggs, cooked to the jammy stage, i.e., slightly soft in the middle
salt and freshly ground black pepper
a few watercress or other leaves, to garnish
MAKES 2
Butter the bread and set aside.
Using a spoon, scoop out the flesh of the avocados. Using a fork, smash the avocado and season with salt and pepper. Spread the avocado onto the bread so you have a thick layer on each open sandwich. If you prefer, you can also slice the avocados for a prettier look.
Squeeze the Kalles Kaviar on top of the avocado, adding 1–2 tablespoons to each sandwich, to taste. Add a sliced tomato, if you like, then slice the eggs and arrange on top. Season with salt and pepper.
Garnish with a few watercress leaves and serve.
VEGGIE VERSION It is now possible to get a vegetarian version of Kalles Kaviar that tastes very similar to the original.
Smørrebrød by Bronte Aurell, published by Ryland Peters & Small (£16.99)
Photography by Peter Cassidy © Ryland Peters & Small
