The art of the 'Räksmörgås'

A Scandinavian classic, simple and simply delicious... 

  • Scandinavian perfection: The Räksmörgås.
  • A Scandinavian classic, the open-faced räksmörgås (shrimp sandwich, though the word sounds much too simple for what it really is) can be very inconsistent in taste depending on where you eat it. If you are near an Ikea store, you can whip up a räksmörgås in your own kitchen, because Ikea sells the little peeled shrimps needed to make it. Make sure you use a really, really good mayonnaise and the freshest of ingredients.

  • Tomatoes, cucumber, even a little bit of bleak roe can be used to garnish the delicious shrimp sandwich.
  • Serving four, you need:
    4 pieces of light bread (sourdough is great)
    mayonnaise
    1.5 cups peeled shrimps (we found ours in the freezer at Ikea)
    2 tomatoes, sliced
    2 hard boiled eggs, sliced
    cucumber, sliced (a few slices is all you need)
    lettuce
    lemon slices
    fresh dill

  • Butter the bread and spread it thickly with mayonnaise, then add some lettuce, followed by the sliced eggs (you can put a dot of mayonnaise on each egg slice if you want). Put the tomato slices next to the egg slices, add the shrimp and then as garnish, the fresh dill and lemon slices.

  • Master Chef Erik Lallerstedt of Stockholm's Gondolen restaurant earlier let us in on his secrets: “You begin with a slice of Challah (which in Stockholm is called “bergis” and in Göteborg “barkis”). The slice should be about half an inch thick. Spread it with a thick layer of homemade mayonnaise, upon which you sprinkle a layer of finely chopped red onion. After that you slice a hard boiled egg with a sharp knife (do NOT use an egg slicer). On top of the eggs, you put another layer of mayonnaise – but less thick this time. And then time for the shrimp! 16 thick, beautiful shrimp in beautiful rows! Top that with some fresh dill. “What makes this particular räksmörgås so delicious is the onion,” says Lallerstedt. “The onion offers something chewy and plays down the fat of the mayonnaise as wells as adds taste. You can also exchange the shrimp for some cold, smoked salmon. Almost as delicious!