Classic Swedish Shrimp Salad
Classic Swedish Shrimp Salad, better known as Skagenröra, or Skagen Salad in Sweden, has a special place in our heart. We are so excited to share this recipe with you. The weather has been amazing here in Ontario and we started craving this scrumptious Swedish delight. So, here we go!
The Inspiration
Around this time last year, we embarked on a family trip to Sweden. Although our parents had been before, it was the first time all of us girls went with them. It was truly a magical trip, filled with family, laughter, adventure and SO MUCH AMAZING FOOD. They definitely do it right in Sweden. Every single meal we had quickly became “the best food we’ve ever eaten.” We were so so impressed.
Our Swedish heritage comes from our Grandfather, Tor, who was born in Sweden and moved to Ontario in his 20’s. Luckily for us, he has kept in touch with all of his relatives in Sweden, many of whom we were able to visit during our trip. We got the insider experience, from all of our “private tour guides,” aka our wonderful family. They showed us the best of Swedish culture, lifestyle and of course, food.
Classic Swedish Shrimp Salad, or Skagenröra, was on the menu at almost all of the restaurants we dined at! You could also find it at all of the local markets we visited. It was so popular in Sweden, and we soon found out why!
It easily become (one) of our favourite things to eat during our trip. We ate it for lunch and dinner … and sometimes even as a snack. We couldn’t resist, it was just that good! Although you can eat this tasty salad on its own, we generally opted for it on an open face sandwich, known as räksmörgås.
So, as we sit at home reminiscing about this trip and wishing that we could hop on a plane and relive it…the best we could do this year was recreate this special dish to bring a little taste of Sweden into our homes!
Tips & Suggestions for our Classic Swedish Shrimp Salad
The key to this recipe is to have FRESH ingredients. Including, fresh dill, crisp lettuce, freshly squeezed lemon juice, and if you choose to serve it as a sandwich, fresh bread. FRESH, FRESH, FRESH! It will make a huge difference.
In Sweden they use prawns, but here in Ontario we recommend North Atlantic cold water, cooked salad shrimp! On a warm, summer day when you don’t feel like cooking, take out some shrimp in the morning. When you’re hungry, it will take you less than 10 minutes to make this delicious classic Swedish shrimp salad.
As we said earlier, the shrimp salad can be served for lunch, dinner or even as an appetizer! The picture above shows how we love to eat Skagen salad – on a bun with a crisp piece of lettuce! BUT there are so many other ways. You could eat it on its own, or use Rye bread instead of a bun. You could also serve it right on a piece of lettuce, using the lettuce as the “bun.”
If you like the idea of placing the shrimp salad on lettuce, instead of a bun, consider using endives. Endives are the perfect shape to hold the shrimp salad and are smaller, thus make a wonderful and refreshing appetizer!
Many traditional shrimp salad recipes will use only mayonnaise and no crème fraîche. Crème fraîche is a version of sour cream, but thicker, richer and little less tangy. We love the addition of it, but you can absolutely use just mayo if you don’t have any! With or without crème fraîche, we promise it will taste amazing.
We really don’t think we have to say it again (but we will anyways), we ADORE our Classic Swedish Shrimp Salad recipe, and really hope all of you do too. It’s creamy, but light, refreshing and so flavourful (if you use those fresh ingredients!) Whether you’re making it for lunch, dinner or an appetizer, we guarantee you won’t be able to help yourself for seconds!
Skål,
Classic Swedish Shrimp Salad
Ingredients
- 17 oz North Atlantic cold water, cooked salad shrimp
- 3 tablespoons crème fraîche
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 3 tablespoons fresh dill chopped
- 1 tablespoon red onion finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- pinch of salt
- ground pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix together the mayonnaise and crème fraîche. Add in the fresh dill, onion, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Stir until well combined.
- Add in the de-shelled and cooked shrimp. Mix well to ensure all the shrimp are coated with sauce.
- Serve and Enjoy!