Smørrebrød with Prawns & Wood Sorrel Mayonnaise

Spring is upon us and so is Norways national day, 17th of May. The one day a year where every Norwegian rise up with pride to gently shake the flag around in joy- eating strawberries and drinking champagne. For the next two weeks I’m going to publish two recipes that will fit perfectly on the breakfast table for 17th of may- or even brunch, lunch, dinner and dessert!

First up is one of my favorite spring/ summer meals; Smørrebrød with freshly picked shrimps and wood sorrel mayonaise. This dish gives me so many memories- all the way back to my childhood and through my teenage years. It’s a dish that has been with me through my whole life, and I’ve always loved it. Even though I have not always loved to pick the shrimps from their shell.

This dish is widely known in the Nordic region, but normally served with a ‘normal’ mayonaise and a slice of lemon. Instead of lemon, I decided to sprinkle some wood sorrel on top- as this has the same acidity as a citrus fruit. Often served on a fine wheat bread now a days, I decided to go back to the roots and serve it on a delicious dark rye bread, which you can get the recipe for here. Wood sorrel is one of my favorite edible plants which we can find everywhere here in our region during spring. Its mild acidity flavor is nothing but pleasing for the taste buds.

Another amazing thing about this recipe is the 1-minute mayonnaise which is a life changing experience! If you never ever tried a home made mayonnaise- try it now. It’s both healthy and so much more delicious than a store bought one- and it takes you less than a minute with the right equipment. Try it once to get the hang of it, and you’ll never go back.

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Smørrebrød with Prawns & Wood Sorrel Mayonnaise

Yield 2 servings

Ingredients

1 kg local prawns from your fishmonger (500g per person)

4 slices rye bread

1-minute mayonnaise:

1 egg yolk

1 tsp dijon mustard

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 dl oil, neutral taste like sunflower

salt/ pepper

1 tablespoon fresh terragon, finely chopped

1 tablespoon freshly picked wood sorrel, finely chopped

Instructions

1. For this quick mayonnaise you need a hand mixer/stick blender and the jar that came with it. A mason jar will work just as good- the point is to get the liquid pretty high above the hand mixer when in the jar to be able to
2. Add egg yolk, mustard, vinegar, oil and seasoning to the jar. Make sure everything has the same temperature.
3. Place the hand mixer in the jar and gently pour over the oil, making sure the oil seperates and ends up on the top of the ingredients. Leave it to settle for a minute or so.
4. Put the hand mixer on slow speed and blend for a couple of seconds. Once the mayonnaise starts to emulsify and thicken, slowly move the stick blender up and down to fully combine the ingredients.
5. When fully blended, remove the hand mixer and stir in the finely chopped terragon and wood sorrel.
6. Assembly the prawns in a big sharing bowl and another bowl filled with lemon water to clean your fingers with.
7. Arrange the bread with mayonnaise, prawns and wood sorrel. A splash of lemon is always nice.

Notes

Eat this with a bunch of friends on a hot summer day accompanied with a glass of rosè or champagne.

Life is indeed wonderful.