After it turned out that Danish open sandwiches (smørrebrød) make an excellent accompaniment or followup to a martini, I’ve been trying out a series of different recipes.

As you will see on my previous post, smørrebrød are a tasty and visually appealing dish from the Nordic countries, but particularly refined in Denmark. They consist of bread, with butter (although I leave out the butter because I am lactose intolerant). You then dress them with an array of ideally colourful toppings.

How to prepare Smørrebrød

This is a very slapdash guide – but they can be fairly simple. The more effort you put into them, the more beautiful they can become though.

It can take around 30 minutes to prepare the different toppings, then you build the dishes in a factory floor assembly-line style. This means that it takes roughly the same amount of time to make one as it does to make up to six, so it’s really good for catering for a group. They make excellent starters for a dinner party.

I particularly value them for the martini lifestyle because you can also prepare them in advance. If you keep them covered they can sit for a couple of hours, although if you are using seafood you might want to keep them refrigerated if they are going to be sitting for more than one or two hours.

A visual garnish like a herb, red onion, lumpfish roe or otherwise can enhance the overall visual appeal so have a think about the colour and flavour combinations that might work for you, then have a go experimenting.

Some Recent Examples

This one involves mackerel paté, sliced pickled egg, tomato, parsley and lumpfish roe; as well as taramasalata, smoked salmon, cucumber and sliced red onion.

If you make a mixture of lemon juice and sugar and soak the freshly soaked onion in it for about 30 minutes it helps reduce the harshness of the onion flavour and adds a really nice lift to the flavour. It goes particularly well with fish.

Here is some Argyllshire hot smoked salmon with avocado and the lemon-soaked onions.

Sauna Suitability

I made them before a sauna session which was ideal because when we were relaxed and chilled after the session the food was ready and waiting. This is a real game changer if you have a sauna, or indeed any sort of pre-martini activity lined up, such as a run, a bath, a gym session, walk or otherwise.

Prepare the dishes, go about your chosen activity, then when it’s time to eat, everything is already in place. They keep for at least an hour or two (you might want to keep them covered so they stay as fresh as possible).

This one is prawns, mayo, onion, cucumber, avocado, balsamic vinegar, cucumber and fried onions.

This one was less aesthetic but more substantial. It’s rye bread with some leftover thousand island dressing, Argyllshire hot smoked salmon and some roasted seaweed, with a leaf and tomato salad on the side.

This one was fairly light and involved more mackerel paté, herring, red onion and cucumber, plus a second brød with prawns, smoked salmon, sliced pickled egg and lumpfish roe.

These ones were also made pre-sauna, for consumption post-sauna.

It’s rye bread topped with a zingy lemony smoked mackerel paté, hot sauce, salad, cucumber, avocado and red onion.

And finally, these two are mustard herring with boiled egg and salad on one side, plus a California Roll inspired salmon, mayo, avocado, cucumber and nori seaweed mix on the other.

I’m sure there will be more to come. And now I’m also dreaming about another trip to Copenhagen, not least for a trip to Tata Bar and bird!

Skål!