Danish Classic: Smørrebrød (Open-faced Sandwiches)

Smørrebrød is the quintessential Danish dish. In Copenhagen, fine restaurants offer ornate open-faced sandwiches prepared by cooks who trained four years in apprenticeship programs to create the perfect rye-bread plate. Across the country on summer afternoons, families sit together around tables covered with small plates of meat, fish, vegetables, and condiments and make their own smørrebrød.

The possible combinations for these sandwiches are only limited by your imagination and a few simple rules: the rye bread is sliced thinly, butter is almost always spread across the bread before any ensuing ingredients, and the sandwiches are eaten with knife and fork.

 

Here are a few classics and family favorites:

- Boiled potatoes, sliced and served on buttered rye bread with a bit of mayonnaise on top, chives, and a sprinkling of sea salt (Image on the left).

- In the late summer, a freshly sliced tomato on rye bread with mayonnaise is incredibly satisfying.

- Pickled herring on rye bread with sliced hard boiled egg and chives.

- Pate spread on rye bread with stewed red cabbage (See "Dinner" section for a delicious stewed red cabbage recipe)

- Open-faced sandwich with lettuce, cold cuts, and tomatoes.