Vegan Smoked "Salmon" Smørrebrød is a plant based twist on a classic Danish open-faced sandwich. Get the recipe below.
Open-faced sandwiches or "Smørrebrød" are a quintessentially Danish dish that come in a wide variety of flavours.
Traditionally they are made with meat or fish but you too can enjoy them if you eat a plant-based diet like me! You just need to make a few substitutions.
This Vegan Smoked "Salmon" Smørrebrød relies on a couple of different vegan fish and dairy substitutes but more on that below.
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Ingredients
For this recipe you'll need the following ingredients:
- Rye bread
- Vegan butter
- Vegan smoked salmon
- White wine vinegar
- Cucumber
- Vegan crème fraîche
- Lemon
- Dill
- Vegan caviar
You're probably wondering where to source vegan smoked salmon and vegan caviar. You can make your own vegan smoked salmon or buy it from some supermarkets (the brand Squeaky Bean make it). Vegan caviar can be bought from specialist stores online like Sous Chef.
The rest of the ingredients should be relatively easy to source! I highly recommend buying your rye bread from a bakery but store bought rye bread is good too. (Extra brownie points if you make your own!)
Step-by-step instructions
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- Step 1: Pickle the thinly sliced cucumber in the white wine vinegar for at least 15 minutes
- Step 2: Butter the rye bread
- Step 3: Layer the vegan smoked salmon on to the rye bread
- Step 4: Top the layer of vegan smoked salmon with a layer of pickled cucumber
- Step 5: Add dollops of vegan crème fraîche on top of the pickled cucumber
- Step 6: Finish assembling the sandwich with the dill and vegan caviar
Hint: To make these Vegan Smoked "Salmon" Smørrebrød look extra pretty, use a piping bag to pipe the vegan crème fraîche on to the pickled cucumber.
Substitutions
If you need to tweak the recipe, try one of these substitutions:
- Vinegar: if you don't have white wine vinegar then apple cider vinegar or even Japanese rice wine vinegar will work well
- Vegan dairy: instead of vegan crème fraîche use another vegan dairy substitute like vegan cream cheese or vegan Greek yogurt
Variations
Vegan Smoked "Salmon" Smørrebrød is highly customisable. Why not try one of these twists on the dish:
- Horseradish: mix some fresh, grated horseradish into the crème fraîche or swap the crème fraîche for horseradish sauce for a peppery taste
- Pickled radish: you can also get a peppery flavour by swapping the pickled cucumber for pickled radish
- Lettuce: add another layer to the sandwich by using lettuce as a base. I like butter lettuce or little gem lettuce
Equipment
You're not going to need a lot of equipment for this recipe. You'll only need the following:
- Small container for pickling the cucumber in
- Sharp knife and chopping board
- Butter knife
Storage
You can pickle the cucumber ahead of time (they will just take on even more of an acidic flavour) but otherwise these open-faced sandwiches really do need to be made fresh.
I don't recommend assembling them ahead of time and trying to store them. Fresh is best.
Top tip
If you make your own vegan smoked salmon, make sure you drain off the marinade thoroughly, otherwise it might make the bread a little soggy.
Frequently asked questions
Squeaky Bean make a delicious vegan smoked salmon which I've seen in major supermarkets across the UK. Alternatively you could make your own using this recipe.
We buy ours online from Sous Chef. You can get black or orange caviar. Both work well and taste delicious.
No. Rye bread is not gluten free so this recipe is not suitable for anyone following a gluten free diet.
The recipe
Vegan Smoked "Salmon" Smørrebrød
Equipment
- 1 small contained
- 1 knife
- 1 chopping board
Ingredients
- 4 slices rye bread
- 2 tablespoon vegan butter
- 0.5 cucumber
- 4 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 4 tablespoon vegan creme fraiche
- 1 lemon zest only
- 2 tablespoon dill chopped
- 2 tablespoon vegan caviar
Instructions
- Begin by pickling the sliced cucumber in the white wine vinegar. Leave them for at least 15 minutes before assembling the dish.
- Butter the rye bread.
- Lay the vegan smoked salmon on top of the buttered rye bread.
- Next drain the pickled cucumber and layer over the vegan smoked salmon.
- Mix the lemon zest with the vegan creme fraiche and spoon dollops on to the picked cucumber.
- Top with the dill and vegan caviar.
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