Open faced shrimp sandwiches with homemade mayonnaise (skiver med shrimps og hjemelaget majones)
Norwegian peel and eat shrimps are common all year round for the most part but are usually eaten in spring and summer as a light meal. This is in contract to the colder months when they are actually at their taste and freshness peak. In Stavanger, the shrimp are farmed in the early hours of the morning, then make their way into the fish market, supermarket seafood counters and even the fishing boats near the ferry terminal by lunch time. While I enjoy these yummy, easy to eat shellfish in salads, my favorite way to enjoy them is layered onto an open-faced sandwich for an easy meal.
Norway, and Scandinavia as a whole, is quite fond of the open-faced sandwich. In contrast to the American sandwich tradition, sandwiches in Norway are often prepared as a single slice of bread smeared with butter, then topped with pålegg (a general name given to sandwich fixings such as sliced cheeses, cold cuts, sandwich spreads, etc.), the occasional condiment, such as mayonnaise, and eaten with a knife and fork.
Despite sounding minimal, eating this type of sandwich can be quite satisfying and an easy way to serve a large group in an unfussed hurry. The art of open-faced sandwiches lies in layering your toppings of choice on your bread in a way that each bite includes a taste of each topping.
My favorite open-faced sandwiches are topped with (in order):
- Butter
- Lettuce
- Cucumber
- Fresh peel and eat shrimp (boiled in salt water only)
- Sliced red onion
- Homemade majones (mayonnaise)
- A light dusting of freshly ground black pepper
- And finally, a squeeze of fresh lemon
Try your hand at making open-faced sandwiches with your favorite combinations and fresh homemade mayo. Homemade mayo is easy to make and inexpensive – plus it finds it’s way into much more than just sandwiches. My recipe below takes 20 minutes and makes a 250 ml (1 cup) of mayo.
Ingredients:
- 250 ml (1 cup) neutral oil like canola/rapeseed or sunflower
- 1 egg (2 egg yokes for a richer mayo)
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar or lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon water
- ¼ teaspoon dry mustard powder (such as Coleman’s)
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
Directions:
1. Using an immersion blender set on high, combine all ingredients until emulsified.
2. Store mayo in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
3. Enjoy!
