Open Sandwiches: From peaches and blue cheese to cod and potatoes
According to Trine Hahnemann, smorrebrod shouldn’t just be for lunchtimes. The Danish chef’s take on open-faced sandwiches is the best thing since sliced bread
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Your support makes all the difference.Danish chef Trine Hahnemann brings to life the humble smorrebrod, which literally translates as “butter and bread”, in her new book Open Sandwiches.
As an advocate for organic and sustainable food, her recipes are not only a treat for all the senses, they are also healthy and make use of locally sourced ingredients and leftovers.
The book includes recipes for every season, mealtime and mood, from fresh and bright peaches and blue cheese with balsamic vinegar to the more comforting cod and potato leftovers.
Cod and potatoes
After cooking dinner, I often have a few leftovers; not enough for dinner the next day, but just enough for my lunch. This is not a classic, but one of my own ways of using fish and potatoes, inspired by brandade.
Serves 4
300g (10½oz) cod fillet
Sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
3 medium-sized cold, boiled potatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
4 slices of rye bread
4 tbsp finely chopped radishes
4 tbsp finely chopped chives
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Place the cod in an ovenproof dish, sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake for 10 minutes. Cool down and carefully remove any bones you find. Place the cod, potatoes, olive oil and nutmeg in a mixing bowl. Mash the cod mixture with a fork and mix it well together. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Place the rye bread slices on a work top. Divide the cod and potato mix on each slice of bread, and place radishes and chives on top. Sprinkle with pepper.
Baked celeriac
Essentially a useful recipe for leftovers, this can of course also be made from scratch (as below). I make smorrebrod like this when I have leftover vegetables like celeriac, beetroot, cauliflower, or carrot available. Many of my smorrebrod recipes come from figuring out how I can use up dinner leftovers the next day, served on rye bread.
Serves 4
½ celeriac root (celery root)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp sea salt flakes
Freshly ground black pepper
50g (⅓ cup) hazelnuts, chopped
50g (3½ tbsp) salted butter, plus more for the bread
Leaves from 1 tarragon sprig
4 slices of rye bread
4 tbsp cress
Preheat the oven to fan 200C/425F/gas mark 7. Scrub the celeriac in water, cut off any dirty peel, place it on a baking sheet with the cut surface downwards, brush with olive oil and sprinkle with the salt and some pepper. Bake it for 1 hour. Take it out and keep warm.
Toast the hazelnuts lightly in a dry frying pan, then add the butter and tarragon. Let it cook until the butter is brown, then remove from the heat.
Place the rye bread slices on a worktop and spread the butter evenly on each slice. Cut the celeriac into 12 slices. Place them on the rye bread slices and, with a spoon, spread the brown roasted hazelnuts over, then decorate with the cress and sprinkle with pepper. Serve right away.
Peaches, blue cheese and balsamic syrup
These pieces of smorrebrod can be served on sourdough toast. Try the sourdough loaf with spices (see page 143), baked with coriander and caraway seeds, which adds wonderfully to the sweet flavour of the peach. Or you can just buy a tasty regular sourdough loaf.
Serves 4
1 tbsp honey
4 tbsp balsamic vinegar
4 peaches
2 tsp salted butter
4 slices of sourdough bread
50g (1¾oz) blue cheese
Thyme or marjoram flowers (optional)
In a small saucepan, melt the honey, add the balsamic vinegar and let it simmer for 2-3 minutes. Halve the peaches, remove the stones and cut them into wedges. In a frying pan, fry the wedges in the butter on both sides over a medium heat, until lightly brown.
Toast the bread, and place the peaches on the bread slices directly from the pan. Crumble the blue cheese and place it on top. Lightly sprinkle with the balsamic syrup and decorate with herb flowers (if using).
Extracted from Open Sandwiches by Trine Hahnemann (Quadrille, £12.99)
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