Hello everybody! So last night I found plantbased shrimp in my local supermarket and it is safe to say that I lost my shit. At least, I went straight home and made a sandwich with Skagen salad, which I hadn’t had in years. If you don’t know what Skagen salad, or Skagenröra, is, well it is a Swedish dish, named after the Danish town Skagen (which I grew up nearby btw). Traditionally it is made with shrimp, mayo, and dill. It is from the 50s and is often something that is served during the Winter holidays, but you can also find it throughout the year in Scandinavia.
The plantbased shrimp is from Caviart, a company that also makes seaweed-based caviar, but it is not a deal breaker for this dish you cannot get your hands on their plantbased shrimp. You can also make it with crushed and chopped chickpeas – use seaweed to get that ocean flavour into the dish.
Find my Danish cookbook about plantbased fine dining and gourmet here
recipe // autumn dessert with foraged apples and stinging nettle powder
Waffles (makes 5-6 waffles):
- 3 dl of wheat flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- ½ tsp of vanilla seeds
- 2 tsp of tomato powder
- ½ tsp of salt
- 1½ dl soy milk
- 1½ dl beer
- ½ dl lemon juice
- 2 tsp lemon zest
- 150 grams of plantbased butter
Combine flour, baking powder, vanilla, tomato powder, and salt in a bowl. Then add the plantmilk, beer, and lemon juice. Also, whisk in the lemon zest. Make sure to not overwork the batter by whisking it too much. Simply whisk so the batter is combined. Place your batter in the fridge while melting 2/3 of the butter. Once the butter is melted, add that to the batter as well. The remaining butter will be needed when cooking the waffles.
Turn on your waffle iron. The waffle iron needed to make this dish is a Belgian waffle maker. Place a small drop of butter on the waffle iron and cook your waffles to fluffy, crispy, and golden, then set them aside to cool.
recipe // plant-based tiramisu with homemade ladyfingers
recipe // beet tartar with seaweed, leek ask and root of celery
Plantbased Skagen salad
- 3 tbsps of plantbased shrimp (alternatively use chopped chickpeas and seaweed)
- A handful of dill
- 2 tbsps of lemon juice
- 2 tsp of lemon zest
- ½ a small red onion
- 1 tbsp of capers
- 1 tbsp of plantbased mayo
- 2 tsps of oat fraiche
- Salt and pepper to taste
Chop the “shrimp” (the ones I used here are seaweed-based from Caviart, but alternatively you can crush and chop chickpeas and turn them over in powdered seaweed, or seaweed bullion for the same effect). Finely chop the dill, red onion, and capers as well, and mix with the “shrimp”. Squeeze in the lemon juice add the zest and mix well. Then take the mayo and fraiche and turn everything together. Taste with salt and pepper after preference. Place the Skagen salad in the fridge until you need it.
recipe // herb garden tortellini
Citrus caviar
- 1 dl of orange juice
- 2 tbsps of lemon juice
- ½ a tsp of glucose syrup
- ½ a tsp of agar agar powder
- 400 ml of vegetable oil
Start by placing your vegetable oil in the freezer an hour before you begin the rest of the recipe. If the oil is not cold enough, you won’t be able to make the pearls. Mix your orange juice, lemon juice, and syrup in a pot and heat it to 95 degrees C (203 F). Add in the agar agar powder and mix well. Then take the pot off the heat and let it cool down for 5-7 minutes. When handling the liquid it should be warm, but not near boiling, nor steaming. Take the oil out of the freezer and add it to a tall glass or jar. With a food-safe pipette, suck up the still-warm liquid and press out the pearls individually into the oil. Make circular motions with your hand when pressing out the pearls, so that they don’t land on top of each other. When you’re done, pour the pearls into a sieve and rinse them with cold water. Store them in a glass with water in the fridge until you need them.
recipe // vegan “smørrebrød” aka Danish open-faced sandwiches
recipe // green creamy pasta (with tons of hidden veg)
Assembling the dish:
- Fresh pea sprouts
- Fresh chives
Carefully the waffle into four pieces, I recommend cutting all sides of the pieces for a cleaner and more homogenous look. Place the Skagen salad in the square indents of the waffle, and place two citrus pearls on top. I used food tweezers for more delicate mobility, so I could place the elements more precisely.
Chop pea sprouts and chives into 2 cm-sized pieces and place them diagonally on the dish, then serve with a fresh cocktail or a glass of sparkling wine.
recipe // double-fried silken tofu (that will win over any tofu skeptic)
