Smørrebrød is a staple of Danish cuisine. It’s simple in concept but provides an array of potential combinations, many of which can be highly colourful, much like its country of origin.

It’s also one of the healthier things you will find on this blog.

What is smørrebrød?

The word smørrebrød comes from ‘smør og brød’ which means ‘butter and bread’.

It essentially consists of a slice of bread, usually a nice hefty rye (rugbrød), traditionally slabbed up with a generous layer of butter, topped with a variety of ingredients and served as an open sandwich. As well as being widespread in Denmark, equivalent dishes are commonly served around the Nordic countries (it is known as smørbrød in Norway and smörgås in Sweden).

Similar dishes can also be found around the European ‘rye-viera’ but Denmark leads the way, not least with its tempting array of toppings from the country’s abundant fields and fisheries.

Smørrebrød and Martinis

From a martini perspective, this is a perfect meal to follow a strong aperitif. You do all the preparation in advance, so when you’ve enjoyed your drink it’s easy to just serve the dish with minimal effort.

The flavours of many smørrebrød are also highly complementary to a martini.

Pickles, onion, dill, egg, rye and smoked fish are all eminently suitable to pair with the silver bullet so the marriage works really well.

You could technically serve this at the same time as drinking a martini, but smørrebrød should always be eaten with a knife and fork, whereas martini guidelines normally recommend that accompanying food should be bite-sized and edible with one hand only so you can still hold your glass at the same time. It wouldn’t be the most civilised serve to have them both at exactly the same time. It would be better to save the smørrebrød until after you have finished your aperitif.

Alternatively, and this might be frowned upon, if you’ve had a long day and you want to eat something before you drink your martini you could eat this light dish first, then enjoy a more leisurely martini afterwards, perhaps before moving on to a main course.

Otherwise, though, I prefer it served after the drink. It’s also very easy for serving several people if you’re having a dinner party. You can enjoy your martinis together and really catch-up without having to spend loads of time in the kitchen without your guests. You then whip out these pre-organised and very pretty dishes and get back to sitting together.

How to smør your brød

Start with Rye Bread. I tend to buy it in long form and cut it into two pieces but the shape isn’t critical. Homemade would be even more impressive.

The next traditional step is to slather it with butter – Lurpak or home-made as the most recommended suggestion. Some people like it so thick that you leave your teeth marks after a bite.

However, dairy free alternatives are fine, and it’s completely suitable to serve it without this layer, although it can help hold the toppings in place. I quite like a mixture of finely chopped red onion with mayonnaise (pictured above – and vegan is completely acceptable) to replace the butter layer. Nonetheless, the butter layer does taste very nice.

There are all sorts of ingredients you could then include to top the bread, including:

• Smoked salmon or other types of smoked fish
• Pickled herring
• Karrysild (pickled herring in a creamy curry sauce – honestly delicious and very comforting)
• Beetroot (in any form)
• Sliced or diced onion
• Sliced cucumber
• Pickled gherkins
• Avocado
• Asparagus
• Cress
• Sliced olives (not traditional but certainly suitable)
• Paté
• Meatballs
• Ham, roast beef or other thinly sliced cuts of cold meat
• Mustard – usually sweeter Scandinavian style mustards to the more fiery English mustard but the latter goes very well with a roast beef smørrebrød
• Cheese
• Shrimp or prawns
• Crab meat
• Fish roe such as lumpfish caviar or sevruga
• Sour cream
• Horseradish
• Capers
• Fried crispy onions
• Salad
• Tomato
• Boiled egg
• Pickled capers
• And, of course, a traditional garnish of fresh dill

Try not to mix too many of the ingredients on the one slice. Meat and fish would probably be overkill. Pickles and smoked ingredients would need to be carefully balanced et cetera.

Note that some of the lighter ingredients such as salmon or egg are traditionally served with white bread rather than rye bread but I’ve had them both served on ryebread extensively in Denmark.

Another tip is that pickled herring might be better served on the side if you want to prepare these dishes in advance, otherwise it might overly soak the ryebread before you get the chance to eat it.

Martini Pairings

In terms of pairing smørrebrød with a martini, there are numerous versions that might be suitable.

Smørrebrød are often served with beer or akvavit which I cannot recommend enough, but they also go beautifully with a martini.

Almost all of the topping flavours will go well with a classic martini with a twist of lemon. Both gin and vodka would be fine. Indeed a vodka might be more reliable because certain gins could have a flavour profile that doesn’t quite match the smørrebrød flavours.

A recommended pairing would be an Absolut vodka with its wheaty tones. Martin Miller’s gin with its clean pallette would also pair nicely, as would any gin with clean, citrus-leading botanicals.

However, there are numerous beautiful Danish gins that feel eminently suitable for a pairing, such as Jensen’s and Geranium.

Any of the martini variations with a pickle garnish would also work well, such as a Gibson, or a Filthy Martini. The Spicy BJ Martini with its pickled beetroot would also go very well.

You can find a lot of the relevant ingredients at your local supermarket but for the more authentic ingredients you might be able to find them at IKEA or at your nearest specialist shop such as the Scandinavian Kitchen in London.

Otherwise, I recommend experimenting and finding out combinations that work for you. Please tag me on Instagram with any pictures you take of your smørrebrød as I love seeing other people’s!

Skål!