There have been times when I ordered a sandwich in the summer in Helsinki, and part of me couldn’t remember if I enjoyed lunch, an afternoon snack, a light dinner or a late night bite after a night out in town. When the sun never goes down, it is happily easy to lose overview of time completely.
The perfect Scandinavian at any time meal
The ideal meal in this part of the world is an open sandwich. In Denmark they are called sandwich bread, but in Finland, where my father’s side of the family is from, looking for voileivät on the menu.
The idea is similar to the Scandinavian and Nordic landscape. A single piece of bread or cracker (typically rye) is stacked high with a variety of ingredients and decorated with herbs and other toppings until it looks like an edible artwork.
In Helsinki, my favorite place to order one of these Sandwiches Fazer Cafe near Esplan overlooking the sea is not far in the distance. It is from the memories of Voileivät that I tasted there that I was drawing inspiration to recreate the experience at home.
This light recipe is enough to make four open sandwiches, depending on the size of your bread. Should there be any remaining filling, pick up some Finn Crisp or Wasa biscuits to pour up and fool the rest like a midnight snack from the midnight sun.
Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm
What kind of bread to be used
A solid piece of rye bread is the ideal base for this kind of sandwich. I speak dark, flat and cool, 100 percent sourdough rye. A fluffy slice of American style bread won’t cut this. Fortunately, I live near a grocery store bearing rye pocket bread from Estonia, which is almost identical to what is found in Finland.
When I feel nostalgic (and are not ready to bake my own batch), there is also a bakery in Pennsylvania called Arctic Swan that makes a fantastic mail -rider business of Finnish delicacies. If rye is not your cup of tea, go for a solid, whole grain bread that is sturdy enough to handle toppings.
How to make my Scandinavian shrimp sandwich
For four open sandwiches (two portions) do you need:
- 2 rye bread pockets, split or 4 slices of dark rye sourdough bread
- 1 lemon
- 2 cups (8 ounces) Small cooked tail-off shrimp, thawed (100-200 counting per pound)
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- English cucumber slices
- 1 hard boiled egg, cut into 4 wedges
- Dill twigs, optional
Divide the rye bread pockets and place with your face up on your work surface (or place the rye bread slices on the work surface). Zest half of the lemon and slice the other half of the lemon in rounds for decoration and put them aside. Juice of the remaining zested half of the lemon until you have 1 teaspoon of juice.
In a small bowl, combine shrimp, mayonnaise, lemon foam, lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.
Ventify some cucumber slices on top of the bread. Divide evenly shrimp among the bread and top each with a wedge with hard boiled egg. Garnish with the reserved lemon rounds and twigs with fresh dill, if desired. Enjoy immediately.
Any remaining shrimp mixture can be cooled in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm