Here is our take on a simple yet delicious way to enjoy a slice of our 100% rye sourdough bread HEIMDAL. What is your favorite way to dress it up?
In Denmark we can eat rye bread with toppings morning, lunch and dinner. We call the dish 'smørrebrød', which usually is translated as open sandwich or open faced sandwich. These sandwiches can be very simple called 'håndmadder' or very elaborate called 'højt belagt smørrebrød' and served at fancy restaurants with a glass of snaps for lunch.
But most of the time, we land somewhere in the middle. A little effort goes far with smørrebrød.
We recommend slicing Heimdal around 6mm thin. My father in law always tells me that it is too thin and that I am saving on the bread ;) but I find that the thickness has to be in balance with what you are planning to put on top.
Smørrebrød with smoked salmon & cottage cheese
If yo have all your ingredients handy it takes less then 5 min to assemble. If you have guests you might want to arrange everything on the table along with other toppings and let your guests assemble their own sandwiches according to their taste and imagination.
1 thin slice of Heimdal
1 tbsp of cottage cheese
2-3 slices of smoked salmon
2 thin long slices of cucumber
1/2 thin slice of red onion (optional)
2 small twigs of dill
3-4 rucola leaves
1/2 tsp of capers in brine
salt & peper to taste (optional)
Directions:
Slice Heimdal thinly. Transfer a slice to a plate.
Add a layer of cottage cheese, or you can substitute with plain cream cheese if you prefer. Plain butter will also be delicious, and you can even save on the calories by skipping this step. It will still taste great.
Add the main part - here a couple of slices of good quality smoked salmon. I prefer the more smoky and salty one, but anything available in the nearest supermarket will do.
Enhance with some crunchy textured veg like cucumber. I imagine a few paper thin slices of daikon could also fit well.
Decorate with the thin red onion slices if you like. I usually skip the onion, but my husband is very fond of the taste and adds it in earnest to all of his smørrebrød.
Top with some fresh dill and a few leaves of rucola or baby spinach.
We love adding capers, the ones in brine not the salted ones. They add a surprising burst of flavor and a bit of extra saltiness. If the salmon you use is not very salty, capers can do the trick to balance everything out. If you don't have capers you can season with a pinch of sea salt flakes and a dash of freshly milled pepper if desired.
Enjoy with a refreshing beverage. During the weekend, a well chilled beer would be a typical Danish accompaniment to smørrebrød. And the older generations might even add