Super Tasty Skagen (Shrimp/Prawn Toast)

Cooking with Rich

2021-06-05T05:41:53+00:00

When I was a kid growing up in Sydney, the old Circular Quay on Sydney harbour has a heap of old school food vendors on each of the wharves. One of the treats I remember having was a prawn salad roll. Basically prawns in mayonnaise on a fair average crusty bread roll. But it was seen as a treat by my brother and I on the rare occasion our parents tooks us in to the 'city' for a ferry trip or a day at the zoo. These days I think back fondly on those days although I doubt those prawn rolls were as good as I remember.

Super Tasty Skagen (Shrimp/Prawn Toast) - Cooking with Rich Many years later I was having a chat with one of my closest friends, a Swede, about those prawn rolls and he said it sounded like a Swedish dish, skagen, roughly translated shrimp on toast. A mayonnaise based prawn salad created allegedly in the 1950 by some chef on a boat during a dead calm with whatever he had available.

The original recipe was simply a combination of prawns (shrimp), mayonnaise, onion, mustard, dill, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Over the years various chefs have tweaked and twisted the recipe to seemingly improve it or give it a personal touch. However if you want to stay traditional go with the above using the approximate amounts as per the recipe below, I can say you will not be disappointed with the simplicity. Skagen in Sweden it is pretty much a staple on every pub, bar and restaurant menu as a starter.

As always I have played around and tried a variety of different recipes and finally coming to the one below which suits me and more importantly the family and friends I cook for. I really liked the addition of ingredients such as horseradish and the fish roe, but this is not always for everyone. So in this instance check out the tips and alternatives as there are a few depending on your personal tastes. Now in one of my shameless plugs if you like this sort of seafood salad you can also check out my Tangy Lobster Salad recipe. Both of these are interchangeable with the seafood meat you wish to use.

Super Tasty Skagen (Shrimp/Prawn Toast)

Preparation: 15mins plus fridge time | Cooking Time: ~5mins to cook the toast | Serves: ~4-6 as a starter

Ingredients

This is my version, however please do also check out the tips and alternatives, for what is fundamentally a simple recipe there are a few options available depending on your tastes and preferences.

350g Shrimp (small prawns), shelled and detailed
⅔ cup of quality mayonnaise
⅓ cup of sour cream or creme fraiche
1 small red onion finely chopped
15g horseradish (~1½ tsp)
10g Dijon mustard (~1 tsp)
2 tsp of brandy
15g fish roe (caviar, the small orange coloured type), plus extra for serving
15-20g dill, finely chopped (~4-5 tbsp when chopped), plus some unchopped dill for garnish
Salt & pepper to taste
1 tbsp of lemon juice
Lemon slices for serving
Toasted brioche for serving - sourdough, rye, baguette or just simply white bread all work.

Method

Combine mayonnaise, sour cream, onion, horseradish, mustard, brandy, caviar, dill in a mixing bowl. Gently stir until well combined.
Add salt and pepper to taste. And do not be afraid to add a little extra of any ingredient if it suits your taste.
Once combined place bowl in the fridge for approximately 1 hour.
When ready to serve, add half the mixture to the shrimp or prawns and gently stir to combine, from there add a little more at a time to get the consistency you prefer. Place back in the fridge for 10-15 mins while you prepare the the toast.
Pre-heat a heavy based pan on high.
Spread a little mayonnaise on both side of the brioche.
Place in the pan and toast approximately 2-3 minutes each side, until golden brown, remove and place on serving plate.
Carefully place an appropriate amount of skagen on the toast.
Garnish with a little extra caviar, dill and a slice of lemon to serve.

Tips & Alternatives

If you have access to freshly cooked shrimp (not frozen) that is by far the best as the meat is a little sweeter and adds to the flavour of the salad. There is no problem with using larger prawns and simply chop them up to smaller pieces, no smaller than about 1 cm - 1.5 cm in length.
If using frozen shrimp/prawns, when thawing, make sure they are as dry as you can make them. Frozen prawns usually retain a fair amount of moisture and this will impact the consistency of the mayonnaise mixture making it runnier than might be desired. See also next tip.
Related to the above, you can definitely make the mixture at day prior to serving and store in the fridge overnight, however do not add the shrimp or prawns until just prior to serving.
The fish roe/caviar adds a nice texture (crunch) and the salty sea flavour to the mixture, something I think that works well, and certainly provides a little 'luxury' to the presentation for serving. If you go without you may want to slightly adjust the salt to your personal taste.
Dill is the traditional herb used, at least from all my research, however I have tried it with coriander (cilantro) or parsley, both of which works well.
Red onion is also more traditional, it is sweeter in flavour, but white or brown onion will also work just fine. Spring onion would also work.
Sour cream or creme fraiche add a slight sourness to the mixture, a good thing in my personal opinion, but this is not by any means necessary and can be left out for a result as good, simply adjust the amount of mayonnaise to compensate.
In the above recipe I used a brioche toast as the example, it works well adding a slight sweetness to the dish. That said my preference is actually toasted sourdough or a nice rye style bread. In Sweden I've had all types of toasted bread and to be fair it is mainly a civil delivery mechanism for the skagen.

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