Toast Skagen is one of the quintessential Swedish foods, a popular appetizer in both home and restaurant kitchens. Named after a fishing port town located at the northern part of Denmark’s Jutland peninsula, it was created by famed Swedish restaurateur Tore Wretman in the years after World War II. You’ll find many renditions of this elegant and easy knife-and-fork, open-face toast—luckily, I’ve never met one I haven’t liked. In my version of Skagenröra, the shrimp are bound with mayonnaise and crème fraîche, then punctuated with fresh dill, lemon (both the zest and juice), and whitefish roe. Traditionally, the shrimp used in the creamy mixture (called Skagenröra) are small, sweet North Atlantic shrimp that are wild-caught and hand-shelled. You can occasionally find such shrimp Stateside in the frozen aisle, but any small shrimp (sometimes called salad shrimp) in the 91–110 count per pound will do. The Skagenröra is chilled in the refrigerator before being heaped upon slices of white bread that have been toasted in a bit of butter.—Hana Asbrink
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What you’ll need
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Cutting Board
$10 At IKEA
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Large Skillet
$75 At Amazon
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Microplane
$16 At Amazon
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Get It Right Spatula
$13 At Amazon
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Measuring Spoons
$10 At Bon Appétit Market
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Measuring Cups
$18 At Bon Appétit Market
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Chef's Knife
$34.53 At Amazon
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Mesh Sieve
$13 At Amazon
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Large Bowl
$18 At Amazon
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Small Bowl
$13 At Amazon
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Tongs
$21 At Amazon
Ingredients
Makes 4
Step 1
Finely chop tender sprigs from¼ small bunch dillto yield ¼ cup.; place in a large bowl. Set some larger sprigs aside for serving.
Step 2
Finely chop¼ medium red onion(you should have about 3 Tbsp.) and add to bowl with dill.
Step 3
Thoroughly pat dry one12-oz. bag frozen cooked small shrimp, thawed, with a kitchen towel or paper towels. Coarsely chop half of the shrimp. Place all shrimp in bowl with onion and dill.
Step 4
Using a Microplane, finely grate zest of1 lemoninto bowl, then cut lemon in half and squeeze juice of one half through your hand or a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl; you should have 1 Tbsp. Add lemon juice to bowl with shrimp and mix gently with a rubber spatula to combine. Cut remaining lemon half into 4 wedges and set aside for serving.
Step 5
Add3 Tbsp. mayonnaise,2 Tbsp. crème fraîche, and¼ tsp. kosher saltto shrimp; mix gently to coat. Season withfreshly ground black pepperand more salt if needed. Cover with plastic wrap or transfer to an airtight container and cover. Chill at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour.
Step 6
When ready to serve toast, melt2 Tbsp. unsalted butterin a large skillet over medium-low heat. As soon as butter is sizzling, arrange4 slices white breadin pan and cook, turning a few times to allow both sides to absorb some butter, until golden brown, about 4 minutes.
Step 7
Transfer toast to plates and top with shrimp salad. Spoon1 tsp. bleak fishorwhitefish roe(if using) over each toast and top with reserved dill leaves. Serve with reserved lemon wedges for squeezing over.
