Danish Ham Salad - Skinkesalat

Danish Ham Salad

This is one the easiest lunch salads to make, and a very tasty one. If you like to get a lighter version, use half mayonnaise and half sour cream or yoghurt.

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

• 10 slices ham, diced
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• ¼ onion, grated
• salt & pepper to taste
• chives, for sprinkling

Directions:

Mix ham, mayonnaise and onion in a bowl, season with salt and pepper. Serve the ham salad on a slice of Danish rye bread as an open-faced sandwich. Sprinkle some chopped chives. I love tomatoes with this salad, it give the sandwich a nice balance.

Enjoy!

Pølsesalat - Danish Sausage Salad

Pølsesalat - Danish Sausage Salad

Pølsesalat, or Danish sausage salad, is a typical mayonnaise based lunch salad served on rye bread in Denmark. I remember standing at the butcher shop's deli section with my mom or dad, and the sausage salad would be my pick, if I had a say. And sometimes I was allowed to get it. I do believe that I was the only one in the family who liked it. As an adult, I still bought it now and again, for a trip down memory lane. Most deli's would have pieces of cold boiled potatoes in their sausage salad, but I left them out here. 

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon ravigotte sauce, or a sweet mustard
• 4 german franks, boiled, cooled, sliced
• chives, for sprinkle

Directions:

Put the german franks in a Bowl and pour over boiling water, let stand for about 5 minutes. Remove the franks and put them into a bowl with ice-water, set aside to cool.

Mix the mayonnaise and ravigote sauce together in a bowl. Slice up the franks, and mix them into the dressing. 

Serve the sausage salad on a slice of Danish rye bread, as an open-faced sandwich. Sprinkle some chopped chives on top.

Enjoy!

Hønsesalat - Chicken Salad

Hønsesalat - Chicken Salad

This chicken salad is an old classic served at most lunch restaurants or smørrebrøds shops. Smørrebrød is the open-faced sandwiches, mostly served on Danish rye bread. Originally you would boil the a whole chicken with onions, carrots and bay leaves. And then use the chilled chicken in the salad, but I had some leftover rotisserie chicken, so why not use this for the salad, and it worked perfectly.

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

Dressing:

• 200 g sour cream
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons madras curry
• salt & pepper

Filling:

• ½ rotisserie chicken, cooled
• 250 g mushrooms, fried and cooled
• 6-8 slices of bacon

Directions:

Mix the dressing and season with salt and pepper to taste. Chop the chicken meat up into smal cubes and mix it in the dressing together with the mushrooms. 

Serve the chicken salad on a slice of Danish rye bread or in a croissant, with a slice of crisp bacon on top. 

Enjoy!

Sommersalat - Summer Salad with Smoked Cheese

Sommersalat - Summer Salad with Smoked Cheese

This salad is summer. My mom made this fresh and crispy salad when the first radishes were big enough to harvest in our vegetable garden. Summer salad is made with a speciality cheese from the island of Funen, a smoked fresh cheese. Summer salad has a mild smoked flavor and is filled with fresh chrispy vegetables. 

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

Dressing:

• 100-150 g rygeost Danish smoked cheese 
• 100 g creme fraiche or sour cream
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
• ½ teaspoon sugar
• salt & pepper to taste

Filling:

• 10-12 medium radishes, quartered and sliced thinly
• ½ english cucumber, quartered and sliced thinly
• a good handful finely chopped chives

Directions:

Mix the dressing, seasoning it with salt, pepper and sugar. I like a mild dressing, with a distinctive smoke flavor. Add all the vegetables and serve the salad on a slice of Danish rye bread. Sprinkle with a little extra chives.

Enjoy!

Smoked Mackerel on an Open-faced Sandwich

Smoked Mackerel on an Open-faced Sandwich

Smoked mackerel on a slice of Danish rye bread is a real summer treat for me. My mom always bought smoked mackerel or herring for our weekend lunches in the summer period. And we all loved it. So I was very excited, when I finally found smoked mackerel from Ducktrap River of Maine (not smoked pepper mackerel) at my local Whole Foods. Of cause this is not the same as getting a freshly smoked whole mackerel, but its pretty close in taste, but a bit firmer in texture.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 1 pack 7-oz mackerel fillet
• 2 slices of Danish rye bread
• 2 radishes, in slices
• chives, finely cut
• Butter, optional

Directions:

Spread some butter on the bread. Remove the skin from the fish, and cut the fish, so it fits the bread-slices. Top the sandwich with radishes and chives. 

Enjoy your sandwich with a glass of cold milk or with a cold beer!