For as long as I can recall, small bites have appealed to me. I prefer to graze whenever I can, sampling lots of nibbles, instead of a lot of one. Tapas, meze, and appetizer courses excite me with the prospect of experiencing multiple flavors at once. When my husband and I dine out, we always coordinate our orders in order to taste as much of the menu as possible. Maybe this appetite preference was ingrained in me long ago. When I was younger, I remember being drawn to a certain photo in one of my mom’s cookbooks–from the Time-Life Foods of the World series, I think. It was a spectacular smorgasbord composed of many different open-faced sandwiches, each uniquely topped and beautifully dressed, creating an eye-popping and mouthwatering scene. Long before small plates and tasting menus were the rage, I remember thinking how wonderful it would be to dig in and try that delicious variety of delectable morsels. It’s no wonder I couldn’t wait to try smørrebrød on our recent tour through Northern Europe. Hands down, I would say that our lunch in Copenhagen was the best we enjoyed on the trip. And now, with a little effort and not a lot of cooking, we can enjoy it at home, too!
Smørrebrød
Smørrebrød, which literally means butter and bread, is a wonderful Scandinavian tradition: a variety of breads are buttered and topped with a multitude of smoked fish and cold meats and then beautifully garnished. This once déclassé workmen’s lunch has become all the rage again in Europe and beyond. And I was so excited to introduce it to you here, thinking I was on the crest of a wave…until I opened my latest issue of Bon Appetit and found a 4 page spread on just the same! How DO they do that? Well, I still stand by my conviction that these make a wonderful light lunch or dinner and are only as limited as your imagination. Light and luscious, they’re perfect for a sunny Sunday afternoon, or a steamy Wednesday night supper.
I’ve kept the offering of sandwiches fairly traditional here: pickled herring, shrimp and egg, roast beef, and, of course, my Vodka Cured Gravlax, too. But you should really use these ideas as a jumping off point, coming up with combinations that you and your family would love. Begin with a selection of breads: I easily found these European three grain and pumpernickel breads at my local market and Whole Foods. To mix it up, I also added in a fresh loaf of sunflower seed rye from a local bakery.
The beauty of these sandwiches is that they require some creative layering and design, but just a little bit of cooking. Before you start assembling, get that cooking out of the way. Hard boil 3 or 4 eggs. Rinse them in cool water, peel them, slice them, season them.
If you choose to use shrimp, as I did, bring a small saucepan of water to the boil. Add a pinch of sea salt and a few sprigs of dill to season it, then add the shrimp. I used large 16-20 count shrimp, peeled and deveined. Add them to the boiling water, turn the heat down and allow to simmer for 3 or 4 minutes, just until they turn opaque.
Immediately drain the shrimp and rinse with cool water. Slice them in half lengthwise–they’ll lay nicely on the bread that way.
To top the herring, I decided to sauté some onion rings lightly in a little olive oil over medium-low heat until just soft and slightly golden. Set aside to cool.
I like to make different dressings to embellish each topping. To dress the shrimp, I whipped together mayonnaise, a few drops of lemon juice, freshly minced dill and kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Taste for seasoning and toss with the halved shrimp.
To top the gravlax, a horseradish cream: sour cream, prepared white horseradish, a few drops of lemon, salt and pepper again.
Mayonnaise mixed with coarse grain mustard makes a savory topping for rare roast beef.
Rich sour cream, lightly seasoned with salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon, played a nice contrast to the assertive flavor of the pickled herring.
And now you’re ready to start putting it all together. Lay out all of your breads and topping ingredients. Make sure to have some good quality unsalted butter at room temperature for spreading. Prepare some wedges of fresh tomato–campari tomatoes work well here, thinly slice a hothouse or kirby cucumber, rinse and dry some Mesclun lettuces and herbs (dill, of course, and any any other herbs you like) to embellish each sandwich. Cornichons, caper berries and pickled onions make excellent garnishes as well.
And now, have at it. Butter each slice of bread first (I halved the longer slices of bread to make smaller sandwiches), then begin layering away. On one half of a slice of sunflower rye, I first laid out the egg slices, then filled in the rest with the dressed shrimp. A small dollop of of the mayonnaise dressing on top and a sprig of dill and it’s ready to serve.
Top another bread with roast beef, mustard mayo and some cucumber slices; layer thinly sliced gravlax with the horseradish cream and top with a cornichon. Pickled herring fillets on buttered black bread is crowned with the sautéed onions and sour cream, with a caper berry jewel.
Mix it up: try different dressings on different toppings, switch out the garnishes–you get the picture. Line the serving platter with the mesclun lettuce leaves and scatter the tomato wedges and cucumber slices around everything. Have fun! Savor this feast that’s a treat for the eyes, as well as the tastebuds.
Suggested ingredients to serve 4:
1/2 pound shrimp, 16-20 count
3 extra large eggs
1 jar roll-mop pickled herring fillets
vodka cured gravlax
1/2 pound rare roast beef
mayonnaise
sour cream
prepared white horseradish
coarse grain or dijon mustard
fresh lemon juice
freshly minced dill
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
campari tomatoes
hothouse or kirby cucumber
mesclun lettuce leaves
fresh dill and other herbs
cornichons
caper berries
pickled onions
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Me, too! I’m all about grazing. I saw a spread about it recently in either Bon Apetit or Saveur, I can;t remember… but anyway it gave me the idea of having a dinner party based solely on things ppl can pluck up with their own hands!