Toast Skagen (Swedish Shrimp Toast)
By Middagsarkivet
- Easy
- 4 servings
Toast Skagen was invented in the 1950s by Tore Wretman, the Stockholm restaurateur who spent his career dragging Swedish cooking back onto Swedish menus. He named it after Skagen, the fishing town at the northern tip of Denmark, which has nothing to do with the recipe but sounded right. It has been on restaurant menus in Sweden without interruption ever since, and it shows up at home for New Year's, for birthdays, and for any dinner that wants a first course without anyone turning on the oven.
The shrimp matter more than anything else. In Sweden this is made with small hand-peeled cold-water shrimp, sweet and firm and already cooked. In an American supermarket, look for cooked peeled salad shrimp in the freezer case, often labeled bay shrimp or Maine shrimp; thaw them and dry them well. Large warm-water shrimp have the wrong texture and go rubbery against the mayonnaise.
The traditional topping is löjrom, the orange roe of the vendace from the Gulf of Bothnia, which is not coming to your grocery store. Lumpfish caviar in a jar sits next to the smoked oysters and does the job: a little salt, a little pop, the right color. Leave it off entirely and nobody will send the plate back.
How to make it
- 1
Dry the shrimp
Spread the shrimp on a double layer of paper towels and blot them dry, pressing lightly. Wet shrimp will thin the dressing into soup.
- 2
Mix the dressing
In a bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, sour cream, mustard, chopped dill, red onion, lemon zest and 1 tablespoon lemon juice.
- 3
Fold in the shrimp
Add the shrimp and fold gently with a rubber spatula until just coated. Season with salt and black pepper, then taste and add more lemon juice if it needs lift.
- 4
Chill
Cover and refrigerate so the flavors settle and the mixture firms up enough to hold its shape on the toast.
- 5
Cut the bread
Trim the crusts from the bread slices and cut each slice into a neat rectangle or a round, whichever you prefer.
- 6
Fry the toast
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat and fry the bread until deep golden and crisp on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Add more butter if the pan goes dry.
- 7
Drain
Move the toast to a wire rack or paper towels for a minute so the bottoms stay crisp.
- 8
Assemble
Set each toast on a plate and pile the shrimp mixture on top, mounded high and no wider than the bread. Top with a teaspoon of lumpfish roe, add a dill sprig and a lemon wedge, and serve at once.
A couple of tips
Fry the bread in butter, not oil, and do it last. Toast Skagen built more than five minutes ahead goes soggy at the base.
Chop the dill just before mixing. Dill chopped in advance loses its smell and turns the dressing grassy.
If the mixture looks loose after chilling, drain off any liquid in the bottom of the bowl before spooning it onto the toast.
Serving
Serve as a starter with a cold lager or a glass of dry white wine, or make it the whole light dinner with a green salad alongside. At a party, fry the bread in smaller squares and serve them as finger food.
Storing it
The shrimp mixture keeps covered in the refrigerator for up to 1 day; stir and drain any liquid before using. Assembled toasts do not keep at all, so fry the bread only when you are ready to serve. The mixture does not freeze.
Nutrition per serving
| Calories | 440 kcal |
|---|---|
| Fat | 31 g |
| of which saturated | 10 g |
| Carbohydrates | 18 g |
| of which sugars | 2 g |
| Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 24 g |
| Salt | 2 g |
Questions and answers
- Can you freeze Toast Skagen?
- No. The mayonnaise splits when thawed and the shrimp turn watery, and fried bread comes out of the freezer limp.
- What shrimp should I use for Toast Skagen?
- Small cooked cold-water shrimp, sold as salad shrimp, bay shrimp or Maine shrimp, usually frozen. Thaw them in the refrigerator and dry them well before mixing.
- Can I make it ahead for a party?
- Mix the shrimp up to a day ahead and keep it covered in the refrigerator, then fry the bread and assemble just before serving.
- What can I use instead of löjrom?
- Lumpfish caviar from a jar is the easy stand-in, and salmon roe works if you want larger beads. Leaving the roe off changes nothing essential.
- Can I use crème fraîche instead of sour cream?
- Yes, one for one. Greek yogurt also works, but it makes the dressing sharper, so cut back slightly on the lemon juice.
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- 1 min 28 sec
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