Tag: open face sandwich

Appetizers, Crostini, Fish and Shellfish, salad

Warm Smoked Salmon Salad Tartines

by Lynda Balslev14 Comments on Warm Smoked Salmon Salad Tartines
Warm Smoked Salmon Salad Tartines

~ Warm Smoked Salmon, Kale, Lemon, Capers, Parsley ~

I was gifted some loot this weekend. Loot, for me, often comes in the edible form, and this gift – a 2 pound package of warm smoked Alaskan salmon – didn’t disappoint. It managed to sit in my refrigerator for all of 18 hours before I couldn’t stand it anymore and ripped the plastic wrapping open for a taste. And another. Before things got too out of hand, I decided to whip up a recipe to use the rest of the salmon before I devoured the whole slab of fish. Naturally, I needed to taste the recipe as I tweaked it, so a small, er, nicely sized bowl managed to remain untouched until dinner when we made these as an appetizer.

Smoked Salmon Salad Tartines

Depending on your mood (or where you might like to be) these can be called tartines, bruschette or open-face sandwiches. For a lighter version, omit the bread and serve the salmon salad simply on the kale leaves. Warm smoked salmon is available in fish markets and specialty stores. To learn more about how it’s prepared, read here.
Makes 10.

10 ounces warm smoked salmon, flaked
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley leaves
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon Greek yogurt or sour cream
2 teaspoons capers, chopped
1 to 2 teaspoons Sriracha or hot sauce, to taste
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
10 slices baguette, cut 1/2-inch thick, or 5 slices peasant/levain bread, cut in half
Extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt
10 Tuscan kale leaves (or baby gem lettuce leaves)
1/2 lemon

Combine the salmon, onion, parsley, lemon juice, yogurt, capers, Sriracha and pepper in a bowl. Mix with a fork to thoroughly combine. Brush the bread with olive oil and lightly sprinkle with sea salt. Toast in oven until light golden on both sides. Remove and cool slightly. Tear 2-inch tips off of the kale leaves. (Save the rest of the kale for another use). Place a leaf tip on bread. Brush with olive oil. Spoon salmon salad over the kale. Squeeze with half lemon.

If you like this, you might enjoy these recipes:
Tuna Melt from Bona Fide Farm Food
Roasted Tomato Tartine from the Kitchn
Bruschetta with Chanterelles and Brie from Herbivoracious
Avocado Bruschetta with Balsamic Syrup from TasteFood
Peach and Blue Cheese Bruschetta with Honey and Thyme from TasteFood
Roasted Salmon with Green Olive and Almond Tapenade from TasteFood

Appetizers, Christmas, Denmark, Fish and Shellfish

Holiday Timeout: Shrimp and Dill Open-Face Sandwich

by Lynda Balslev11 Comments on Holiday Timeout: Shrimp and Dill Open-Face Sandwich
Holiday Timeout: Shrimp and Dill Open-Face Sandwich

Are you suffering from a food hangover? No worries. You’ve made it this far, cruising through Thanksgiving, holiday parties, and now Christmas. Just a few more days to go before the New Year, and then you can look forward to a diet respite. In the meantime, here is a quick fix: a Danish-inspired open-face sandwich. Clean, fresh and minimal, this is Danish design on a plate. It’s a perfect antidote to holiday excess, yet sufficiently decorative and pretty to look at during the festive season.

Not only is this open-face sandwich healthy and low in fat, it’s seasonally appropriate. The Danes are famous for smørrebrød, or open-face sandwiches. Eaten year round, smørrebrød makes a special appearance at the Danish holiday table, where they are an important first course in the culinary marathon otherwise known as the Christmas Lunch. Christmas Lunch is a bit of a misnomer, as it applies to multiple days preceding and following Christmas Day and may happen at lunch or dinner. Whenever it may fall, rest assured there will be numerous courses accompanied by beer and shnapps and no room for any more food that day.

Now, don’t be afraid. While the Danes view smørrebrød as one course of many, for our  sake, I present you with  a Shrimp and Dill Open-Face Sandwich as a light and refreshing dietary interlude. Enjoy this for lunch or as light dinner while you pace yourselves to the New Year. And if you must accompany it with a jigger of akavit, go ahead. After all, it’s the holidays.

Shrimp and Dill Open-Face Sandwich

Bay shrimp are a good substitution for the tiny fjord shrimp typically used for this recipe in Denmark.   Makes 2 smørrebrød.

2 slices french loaf bread, 1/2 inch thick
Lightly salted European-style butter
2 large Boston lettuce or romaine lettuce leaves
1/4 pound bay shrimp
4 tablespoons creme fraiche or Greek style whole milk yogurt
Dill sprigs
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Lemon wedges

Spread each bread slice with butter. Cover with a lettuce leaf. Arrange shrimp in rows on lettuce. Spoon 1-2 tablespoons yogurt over shrimp. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Garnish with dill sprigs and serve with a lemon wedge.