A small, round piece of bred with a mixture on top. Garnished with roe and a sprig of dill.
A fancy version of Toast Skagen. Photo: Jakob Fridholm/imagebank.sweden.se

Toast Skagen

Toast Skagen combines prawns and a handful of ingredients on sautéed bread. The perfect starter!

Named after a fishing port at the northern tip of Denmark, toast Skagen is typically served as a starter at Swedish dinner parties. It was created by late Swedish restaurateur Tore Wretman.

Perhaps more than anyone else, Wretman embraced Swedish culinary traditions during the decades immediately after World War II. At a time when home cooking was starting to fade away in Sweden and be replaced by foreign fast food, he also elevated classic Swedish dishes into fancy restaurant repertoire, lending them new status.

Toast Skagen recipe

Ingredients

(4 servings)
4 slices of white bread
320 g (11 oz) peeled prawns (shrimps)
4 tbs mayonnaise
1 tbs Dijon mustard
150 g (5 oz) whitefish roe
50 g (2 oz) fresh dill
1 lemon
butter

Preparation

Cut off the crusts of the bread slices. Sauté the bread golden brown on both sides in a little butter. Place on paper towels.

If the prawns are large, cut them into smaller pieces. Save four sprigs of dill for garnishes.

Finely chop the rest of the dill and mix with the prawns, mayonnaise and mustard. Apportion the mixture on the slices of sautéd bread.

Shape the whitefish roe like eggs and place on top of each toast. Garnish each with a sprig of dill and serve with a slice of lemon.

A white plate with Skagen with roe and dill. Next to it is a piece of bread and a lemon slice. A person sits at the other side of the table.
Bon appétit! Photo: Tina Stafrén/imagebank.sweden.se

Conversions and abbreviations

1 g = 1 gramme = 1/1,000 of a kg

1 kg = 1 kilogram = 2.2 pounds (lb)

1 dl = 1 decilitre = 100 millilitres (ml) = 1/10 of a litre = 0.4 US cup

1 litre = 10 dl = 0.9 UK quart (qt) = 1.06 US liquid quart

1 fl oz, UK = 1 fluid ounce = 1/33 UK quart = 30 ml

1 fl oz, US = 1/32 US qt = 28 ml

1 lb = 16 oz = 450 ml

1 tsp = 1 teaspoon = 1/6 oz = 5 ml

1 tbsp = 1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons = 1/2 oz = 15 ml

°C = degrees Celsius

°F = degrees Fahrenheit

For more online conversions: onlineconversion.com.

Vegan 'Toast Skagen' recipe

Ingredients

(4 servings)
200 g firm tofu, unseasoned
1 small red onion
½ fennel
2 dl vegan mayonnaise
5 tbsp seaweed caviar
1/2 dl chopped fresh dill
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 loaf of levain bread
50 g seaweed caviar
a few sprigs of fresh dill
salt and black pepper
lemon wedges

Preparation

Chop the firm tofu, red onion, fresh fennel and dill into a bowl.

Mix with seaweed caviar, vegan mayonnaise, salt, pepper and fresh lemon juice.

Fry a couple of slices of bread in vegan butter or olive oil until golden brown.

Top with the tofu mixture. Garnish with some more caviar, dill, salt, pepper, lemon and olive oil.

Enjoy!