Smorrebrod: Scandinavian Open Sandwiches E-Book

Bronte Aurell

• Herausgeber: Ryland Peters & Small
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 145

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

An expert guide to making and eating REAL Scandinavian-style OPEN SANDWICHES. BRAND NEW BOOK from popular Scandinavian food writer and owner of ScandiKitchen Café & Deli in London, BRONTE AURELL. Discover the GOODNESS OF NORDIC FOOD with this delicious collection of recipes. UNCOVER THE SECRET to making the most delicious open sandwiches and easily whip up a light and healthy lunch or snack at home. This indispensable how-to guide will provide everything you need to know to create the best open sandwiches and inspire you to find new and delicious flavours to try at home. Chapters are divided into Fish, Cold Cuts, Veggie, Sweet & Cheese and Breads, Sides & Toppings, featuring the likes of Herring, Skagenrora, Danish Meatballs, Roast Pork, Beet & Egg, Mushroom Paté and Blue Cheese with Ginger, to name just a few. Also includes a brief history of Scandinavian open sandwiches and invaluable hints and tips for successfully making them yourself.

Leseprobe

SMØRREBRØD

SCANDINAVIAN OPEN SANDWICHES

MORE THAN 50 RECIPES, FROM TRADITIONAL TO MODERN

BRONTË AURELL

PHOTOGRAPHY BY PETER CASSIDY

Senior Designer Megan Smith

Editorial Director Julia Charles

Editor Kate Reeves-Brown

Head of Production Patricia Harrington

Creative Director Leslie Harrington

Food Stylist Kathy Kordalis

Prop Stylist Tony Hutchinson

Indexer Hilary Bird

First published in 2025 by Ryland Peters & Small

20–21 Jockey’s Fields, London

WC1R 4BW

and

1452 Davis Bugg Road

Warrenton, NC 27589

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Text © Brontë Aurell 2025

Design and photography

© Ryland Peters & Small 2025

(Image on page 109 © Peter Cassidy)

Printed in China.

The author’s moral rights have been asserted. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

ISBN: 978-1-78879-645-3

E-ISBN: 978-1-78879-664-4

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library.

US Library of Congress cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for.

NOTES

• All spoon measurements are level unless otherwise specified.

• All eggs are medium (UK) or large (US), unless specified as large, in which case US extra-large should be used. Uncooked or partially cooked eggs should not be served to the very old, frail, young children, pregnant women or those with compromised immune systems.

• When a recipe calls for cling film/plastic wrap, you can substitute for beeswax wraps, silicone stretch lids or compostable baking paper for greater sustainability.

• When a recipe calls for the grated zest of citrus fruit, buy unwaxed fruit and wash well before using.

• Ovens should be preheated to the specified temperatures. If using a fan-assisted oven, adjust temperatures according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

• Each recipe is for 2 open sandwiches, which is enough for a light lunch for 2 people. Most of the open sandwiches can also be arranged over 4 smaller pieces of bread, so if you are preparing a spread for more people, choose 3–4 recipes depending on how many you are serving.

CONTENTS

Introduction

Fish & Seafood

Meat & Poultry

Veggie

Party Food

Toppings

Breads

Index

Acknowledgements

INTRODUCTION

Writing a book called Smørrebrød has long been a dream. Since emigrating from Denmark, I have spent almost two decades running our London café and food business, serving open sandwiches and other good food from Scandinavia. At our café we don’t always stick to everything traditional in our interpretation of smørrebrød; we focus on taste and what is good and seasonal, rather than how our parents and grandparents did things.

Our team has worked together to build on Danish, Swedish and Norwegian roots and heritage, what our customers like to eat, what is popular across Scandinavia and how smørrebrød culture is continuously developing in Denmark. We focus on good ingredients, taste and making sure we build on the great ideas of traditional smørrebrød, putting our own stamp on it. At our place, and in this book, you will find our favourite recipes, from the traditional to more modern interpretations.

Do use our recipes as inspiration to create your own delicious open sandwiches. If you don’t have a particular fresh herb, use one you have that works in flavour. Don’t have the right kind of pickles? Use something similar. Can’t be bothered to make your own crispy onions? Just use store bought. Make the open sandwiches your own – and eat what you love. The perfect open sandwich is one that tastes great, looks great and makes you feel happy when you eat it.

We hope you enjoy our book.

See you soon in our café,

Brontë, Jonas and the rest of the ScandiKitchen team x

A BRIEF HISTORY OF SMØRREBRØD

Smørrebrød is a Danish word, derived from the words smør(re) (butter or to spread [v]) and brød (bread). In Norway, it’s smørrebrød, while in Sweden, you might say smörrebröd (referring to the Danish version) or smörgås, meaning a piece of bread with toppings.

Smørrebrød became very popular in Denmark in the late 1800s – first, as simple farmer’s lunchtime food, and later as a popular decorated lunch dish served in all the fancy places. Nevertheless, the open sandwich – essentially just a piece of bread with toppings – has been around for centuries before this. A slab of bread with toppings used to be called trenchers in Middle Age England (before The Earl of Sandwich decided in 1762 that this was inconvenient and added a slice on top so that he could eat it with his hands). Open sandwiches are tartines in France, bruschetta in Italy and butterbrot in Germany. In fact many countries have their own version of the open sandwich. The Danes, however, have made smørrebrød their own and it is a must to sample a few speciality eateries when visiting Denmark.

There are several places in Copenhagen that are credited with having elevated smørrebrød into popularity – the currently closed Davidsen restaurant had no fewer than 110 different kinds on their menu. However, you usually find the same 20 or so toppings appearing over and over again on the menus of the most traditional eateries.

After a period of slightly falling out of favour, in recent decades smørrebrød has had a huge rise in popularity and now once again appear in trendy cafés and restaurants as the star dishes. This time around, people expect new ideas, new toppings and influences from around the world – including plenty of vegan and vegetarian options. The tradition is still strong but nowadays more so by focusing on the quality of the ingredients, rather than questioning if it is traditional to have herring with beetroot or not. smørrebrød has evolved – and is firmly the Danes’ favourite food.

ETIQUETTE

As with all things traditional, there are rules. Some of these rules are logical, and some less so. Most are not written down, which makes it hard for anyone to learn what those rules are. Many are there because that’s just the way it has always been done.

The first point – and this rule is actually important – unless you are eating an open sandwich specifically made for hand-delivery (håndmad or snitter), assume you should use a knife and fork to eat it. It’s a safe bet that if you are seated at someone’s house or at a café and you are served open sandwiches, cutlery should be used, not your hands.

Sometimes, you may be either serving multiple open sandwiches or enjoying a bit of a feast at someone’s house, either with a pre-made selection of open sandwiches or as part of a koldt bord (cold table – the Danish version of a Swedish smörgåsbord, where you make your own open sandwiches as you enjoy the meal), if so, then the toppings should be eaten in a certain order:

HERRING – this is always eaten first, and most often on a different plate. This is because herring has a very strong taste and using the same plate may ‘stain’ the rest of the open sandwiches with herring brine, which is not so nice.

Along with the herring, a shot of cold aquavit is often served – it complements the pickled fish in taste. You can find an easy recipe for making an aquavit-style spirit at home on page 12. It’s an old-school practice that aquavit needs to be kept in the freezer – this just means you won’t taste much of it as you drink it. If you find an aquavit with flavour notes you like, try drinking it just lightly chilled instead.

Next up is FISH AND SEAFOOD – such as plaice, prawns or Skagenröra (see page 28). This stage often includes eggs, too, for those who do not eat fish or those who like eggs with their prawns or salmon.

Following on from this will be any MEAT OR VEGGIE options – and if it is a koldt bord (especially at Christmas), this is where any hot dishes would also be served.

Lastly, at the end of a meal, you eat any CHEESEsmørrebrød that may be served.

Traditionally, you don’t go back once you have moved on to the next course.

Just as important as the order in which you serve the open sandwiches, are the unspoken rules on what goes with what. These rules are taught to us growing up – and some of these I question every day! I’ve seen non-Scandinavian friends put remoulade dressing on smoked salmon and gasped in horror – before realizing that actually, it’s not that bad and there is no reason we have this rule other than ‘that’s just the way it is’.

SOME OF THE TOPPING COMBINATIONS THAT WILL MAKE ANY DANE SHUDDER (THIS LIST IS NOT EXHAUSTIVE)

» Remoulade on any fish (except fried breaded fish and fish cakes)

» Herring on white or soft bread – it only goes on rye or crispbread

» Remoulade on cheese, herring or liver pâté

» Crispy onions on smoked salmon, prawns, herring, or in fact fish of any kind (try telling that to your local sushi take away that nowadays use crispy onions on everything)

» Pickles on any kind of fish

» Combination of two meats together – such as ham and meatballs (there are a few exceptions)

» Cheese and pâté together

While there will always be combinations that people have learned, taste comes first, so forget the above unless you’re trying to impress a table full of Danes. Crispy onions are great on salmon and remoulade is nice on pâté. Some people like herring on soft bread – and why not? It’s all about what you like.

SMØRREBRØD STYLES

There is a big difference between the smørrebrød a Dane might prepare for lunch at home and the version you see in cafés and restaurants. In the most basic sense, an open sandwich is a piece of buttered bread with some form of topping. The Danish word pålæg (pålægg in Norway, pålägg in Sweden) means any form of topping on bread.

HÄNDMAD – a hand-held open sandwich, meaning a piece of bread with pålæg that is quite simply decorated so you can deliver it to your mouth with no need for cutlery. This is the open sandwich kids will have in their packed lunch at school and the one you make as a snack when in a hurry. There’s minimal decoration, just mainly sustenance. These are most often no bigger than half a slice of rye bread, about 8 × 5 cm/3¼ × 2 inches.

SNITTER – this means ‘cut pieces’. They’re a little smaller than a håndmad, but with more effort on the decorations so they can be served at parties (but not too much so that guests need to use cutlery to eat them). They’re larger than a standard canapé (2–3 bites), so are handy if feeding people at a standing event.

SMØRREBRØD – this is the standard with a good amount of pålæg. They are the same size as the bread for the håndmad, but because these have much more decoration, they are harder to eat without cutlery. This is the size you get in most lunchtime cafés and when making fancy sandwiches for the family. A good option if you want to make a selection for a beautiful lunch, where people might want to sample 2–4 different kinds each.

HØJTBELAGT – this literally means ‘high coverage’. No expense is spared on the ingredients and one full piece is often sufficient for the average lunch (or two, for those with larger appetites). The bread is often a whole slice of bread and the toppings cover it completely – and then some. When making these, height and decoration is front-txtmount, as each one is a piece of show smørrebrød. In this book, we most often show this larger version, but most of the recipes can be made using half-sized slices (standard smørrebrød).

THE ANATOMY OF AN OPEN SANDWICH

It seems so simple – take a piece of bread, put some stuff on it, and eat it. And this is, of course, true.

How to make an open sandwich look good is the tricky bit though. And not just look good, but taste good and have all the elements of a nice experience in every bite. Think of your open sandwich in layers:

FIRST, YOU NEED THE RIGHT BASE – which should complement your choice of toppings. For example, if you are having a mushy topping, such as avocado, choose bread that has a bit of crust, seed or bite to it – a soft white sandwich bread with mushy avocado isn’t going to get your mouth excited.

THE BASE NEEDS A SPREAD – butter is the obvious choice. Flavour the butter if you like, but do make it nice quality. I use proper butter, not spreadable – it is just… nicer. The butter also acts as a fat barrier so the toppings will take longer to soak into your slice of bread. This is handy if making your open sandwiches ahead of time.

ADD THE TOPPINGS – on the more traditional smørrebrød, people used to add a leaf of lettuce (again, a barrier to stop any toppings soaking the bread), but you should just add the least wet toppings first. For example, if adding salmon and egg salad (which is mayo based and thus also has a fat barrier), add the egg first, then the beautiful salmon on top. If you did it the other way around, the salmon would wet the bread and the egg mayo wouldn’t be as visually attractive as a vibrant piece of smoked salmon.

FINALLY, ADD ADDITIONAL TOPPINGS – every type of smørrebrød should hit the taste buds (salt, bitter, sour, sweet and umami) and should provide texture and crunch. In this case, the base of seeded rye bread provides great texture with the seeds and malty flavours against the soft, sweet egg salad – finishing with salty smoked salmon on top. Top this with some lightly pickled red onion, crunchy and flavourful fennel, fresh dill, pea shoots and seasoning to finish.

STEP-BY-STEP CONSTRUCTION OF YOUR OPEN SANDWICH

HOMEMADE AQUAVIT

Aquavit is a flavoured alcoholic spirit to enjoy with your smörgåsbord, especially when eating herring, where it is traditional to enjoy a small shot. Dill, caraway and fennel are common flavourings, but berries or flowers can be used too. Purists would use a base such as Brøndums, but vodka is much easier to get hold of outside Scandinavia – as long as it’s a flavourless grain- or potato-based spirit over 37.5% proof, you can make an aquavit-style drink with it.

Aquavit must contain dill and caraway to be considered as such – if not, it’s a ‘snaps’. Whatever you prefer and enjoy is what you should go for – I’ve seen far too many people feel that they have to suffer drinking an aquavit they don’t enjoy.

For a summer aquavit, choose dill, fennel and maybe even elderflower, keeping it lighter in flavour. For the darker seasons, earthy notes such as coriander seed, caraway, cinnamon and cloves, or even allspice, work well.

The general rule is that fresh herbs need only 2–3 days steeping, but dried seeds and barks need several weeks for full flavours to develop. You can add the dried bits first and then the fresh notes at the end of the maturing.

SUMMER AQUAVIT

a bunch of dill

1 teaspoon dill seed

1 teaspoon white sugar

350 ml/1½ cups vodka, plus extra to taste

large Kilner/Mason jar, sterilized

paper coffee filter and funnel

glass bottle, sterilized

MAKES 350 ML/1½ CUPS

Blanch the bunch of dill in boiling water for a few seconds, then shake dry and add to the jar (I would always blanch fresh herbs before adding as it gives a stronger taste).

Add the dill seed and sugar, then top up with the vodka and stir. Seal the jar and leave for 4–5 days at room temperature.

Strain through the coffee filter to remove the dill. Decant into the bottle and keep for another month before topping up with more vodka to taste.

Serve slightly chilled in shot glasses.

WINTER AQUAVIT

5 cardamom pods

1 cinnamon stick

8–10 whole cloves

1 teaspoon caraway seeds

½ vanilla pod/bean (used is fine – the pod will still have flavour)

1 teaspoon white sugar

1 tablespoon runny honey

350 ml/1½ cups vodka, plus extra to taste

large Kilner/Mason jar, sterilized

paper coffee filter and funnel

glass bottle, sterilized

MAKES 350 ML/1½ CUPS

Put the cardamom pods, cinnamon stick, cloves, caraway seeds and vanilla in the jar.

Add the sugar and honey, then top up with vodka and stir. Seal the jar and leave at room temperature for at least 3 weeks.

Strain through the coffee filter to remove the spices. Decant into the bottle and top up with vodka to taste.

Serve slightly chilled in shot glasses.

FISH & SEAFOOD

GRAVAD LAX

DILL-CURED SALMON