Friday, September 04, 2009

Toast Skagen Recipe

Toast skagen
Photo updated in October 2010

Toast Skagen is a very festive and popular Swedish starter. It's not cheap - both good shrimps (preferably from the waters around the Smögen island) and whitefish roe (ideally from European whitefish/Vendance (Coregonus albula) or Powan (Coregonus lavaretus)) are pricy. But if you are looking for that special starter for a special occasion, then this is very elegant, good-looking and delicious*.

This beautiful appetiser was developed by one of the best-known Swedish culinary heroes, Dr Tore Wretman (1916-2003), who served a version of this dish in his Stockholm restaurant already in 1958. Skagen, by the way, is a name of a beautiful fishing port on the Northern coast of Denmark, which has been popular with Swedish and Danish artists for centuries. Who knows, perhaps Wretman was inspired by one of his trips to the area :)

* Yes, I've slowly began to like shrimps.

Toast Skagen
(Toast Skagen krevetivõileib)
Serves 4




4 slices of good-quality white bread, crusts removed
butter for frying
300 g peeled cooked shrimps/prawns (fresh is best, but in brine will do)
5 Tbsp mayonnaise
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2-3 Tbsp finely chopped fresh dill + extra for garnishing
100-150 g bleak/whitewish roe
one lemon, quartered

Melt the butter on a frying pan and sauté the bread slices on both sides until golden. Place on a kitchen paper to drain excess fat.
Drain the shrimps, cut into smaller pieces (optional; I left them whole, as they look prettier). Mix mayonnaise, mustard and dill, fold in the shrimps. Taste for seasoning - if necessary, add some salt and pepper.
Spoon the mixture on top of the bread slices.
Garnish with a large spoonful of caviar and some dill. Serve with a lemon quarter.

7 comments:

Kelsey Jane said...

Nami-Nami, do you have a recipe for Estonian leib? Or creamy salmon soup? I recently studied abroad in Tartu for a semester, and I miss the food so much!

Anonymous said...

Almost feel the taste in my mouth! Nice photo!
I prepared a salmon yesterday, unfortunately not shrimp :)
Have a nice day!

Heidi Park said...

how could anyone resist this perfect appetizer? how beautiful and colorful this is!

Linda Berg said...

I like the way you're spreading the Nordic cousine... :-) Toast Skagen is one of my favourites!

ChichaJo said...

I have never had this but have seen is in Scandinavian food blogs and books...sounds delicious, will definitely try to whip up a version here!

Mixed Drink Recipes said...

This looks delicious. Thanks for posting!

Pille said...

Kelseyj - a recipe for Estonian bread is coming, and there's a recipe for creamy salmon soup here.

Heidi - I'd be delighted to serve this to you when you come over :)

Linda - well, I've learned to like Toast Skagen - and as there aren't so many "spreaders" of Nordic cuisine out there, I'm happy to fill the gap :)

ChicaJo - you'd love this!!

Gabsci & Mixed Drink Recipes - thank you!