You cannot fail with Mayo, crème fraîche or sour cream, and shrimp. Hello – Swedish Shrimp Toast
Toast Skagen, also known as Swedish Shrimp Toast, is a popular dish in Scandinavian cuisine. It’s a simple but elegant appetizer that consists of a crispy slice of bread topped with a creamy shrimp salad made with mayonnaise, sour cream, and fresh dill. The dish is named after the Swedish fishing port of Skagen, where the shrimp used in the recipe are caught.
To make Swedish Shrimp Toast:
First and foremost, you’ll need fresh shrimp. Ideally, you want to use small, sweet shrimp that are already cooked and peeled. You’ll also need bread, preferably a dense, crusty bread like sourdough or rye. To make the shrimp salad, you’ll need mayonnaise, sour cream, fresh dill, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
To start, finely chop the shrimp and mix them in a bowl with the mayonnaise, sour cream, dill, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. The resulting mixture should be creamy and well-seasoned. You can adjust the seasonings to taste, adding more lemon juice or dill if desired.
Next, toast the bread until it’s crispy and golden brown. Once the bread is toasted, spread a generous amount of the shrimp salad on top of each slice. Garnish the Toast Skagen with a sprig of fresh dill, a wedge of lemon, and a few extra shrimp if desired.
It pairs well with a crisp white wine, such as a Sauvignon Blanc or a Chardonnay.
Toast Skagen is a delicious and elegant dish that is perfect for any occasion. It’s easy to make and can be customized to suit your taste preferences.
Swedish Shrimp Toast (Toast Skagen)
Equipment
Ingredients
- ¼ small bunch dill
- ¼ medium red onion
- 1 12- oz. bag frozen cooked peeled shrimp deveined, tail-off small shrimp (preferably North Atlantic), thawed
- 1 lemon
- 3 Tbsp. mayonnaise Your favorite or home made
- 2 Tbsp. crème fraîche
- ¼ tsp. kosher salt plus more
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
- 4 slices bread or crackers (I like rye or sour dough) such as Pepperidge Farm
- 4 tsp. bleak fish or whitefish roe optional
Instructions
- Finely chop tender sprigs from ¼ small bunch dill to yield ¼ cup.; place in a large bowl. Set some larger sprigs aside for serving.
- Finely chop ¼ medium red onion (you should have about 3 Tbsp.) and add to bowl with dill.
- Thoroughly pat dry one 12-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.
- Using a Microplane, finely grate zest of 1 lemon into 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.
- Add 3 Tbsp. mayonnaise, 2 Tbsp. crème fraîche, and ¼ tsp. kosher salt to shrimp; mix gently to coat. Season with freshly ground black pepper and 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.
- When ready to serve toast, melt 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. As soon as butter is sizzling, arrange 4 slices white bread in pan and cook, turning a few times to allow both sides to absorb some butter, until golden brown, about 4 minutes.
- Transfer toast to plates and top with shrimp salad. Spoon 1 tsp. bleak fish or whitefish roe (if using) over each toast and top with reserved dill leaves. Serve with reserved lemon wedges for squeezing over.
