Toast Skagen
Sweden's elegant prawn toast — creamy shrimp salad on buttery fried bread with dill and roe.
Date Night
Quick & Easy
Ingredients
- 300g small cooked prawns (peeled)
- 3 tbsp mayonnaise
- 3 tbsp crème fraîche or sour cream
- 2 tbsp fresh dill, finely chopped (plus sprigs for garnish)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- Salt and white pepper to taste
- 4 slices white bread (thick cut)
- Butter for frying
- Fish roe or lumpfish caviar, for topping
Instructions
- 1 Pat prawns dry with paper towels. If using large prawns, chop roughly. Reserve a few whole ones for garnish.
- 2 Mix mayonnaise, crème fraîche, dill, lemon juice, and mustard in a bowl. Fold in prawns. Season with salt and white pepper. Chill for 10 minutes.
- 3 Cut bread into rounds with a large cookie cutter, or trim crusts for neat squares.
- 4 Fry bread in generous butter over medium heat for 2 minutes per side until golden and crispy.
- 5 Place fried bread on plates. Pile prawn mixture generously on top.
- 6 Garnish with reserved whole prawns, a sprig of dill, and a small spoonful of fish roe.
- 7 Serve immediately as a starter or light lunch.
About This Recipe
Toast Skagen is Sweden's most iconic starter — served at every julbord (Christmas buffet) and fine dining restaurant. Created in the 1950s by Swedish chef Tore Wretman, it's named after the northern tip of Denmark where the seas meet.
Tiny Nordic prawns are folded into a mixture of crème fraîche, mayonnaise, and fresh dill, then piled onto buttery fried bread and crowned with a spoonful of fish roe. Simple, elegant, and the taste of a Scandinavian summer.