Sweden's most loved prawn appetiser: cold-water prawns mixed with mayonnaise, creme fraiche, dill, and lemon, mounded on a butter-fried slice of white bread and topped with bleak roe.

Toast Skagen was created by Swedish restaurateur Tore Wretman in the 1950s, named after the Danish town and fishing port at the tip of Jutland. The classic dressing is hand-peeled small shrimps, mayonnaise, dill, lemon and a dollop of bleak roe on a slice of butter-toasted white bread. Gothenburg's seafood-rich version became the city's signature lunchtime starter at Bhoga, SK Mat och Manniskor and Bar Bulot, paired with a glass of cold Riesling or a Pilsner.

Where to eat Toast Skagen in Gothenburg

5 editor picks for Toast Skagen in Gothenburg, ranked by editorial score. All Gothenburg signature dishes · Toast Skagen across every city.

Make it at home

Serves 430 minEasy

Ingredients

  • 400g cold-water prawns, peeled, fresh or thawed (Pandalus borealis ideal)
  • 100g good mayonnaise
  • 60g full-fat creme fraiche
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh dill, plus crowns to garnish
  • 1 tbsp finely diced red onion
  • Zest of 1 lemon plus juice of half
  • 4 thick slices of white bread (pain de mie or brioche), crusts removed
  • 80g unsalted butter, for frying the toasts
  • 40g lojrom (Swedish bleak roe), or substitute trout roe
  • Sea salt, black pepper
  • Lemon wedges, to serve

Method

  1. Drain the prawns thoroughly and pat dry on kitchen paper. Reserve 4 whole prawns for garnish.
  2. Combine mayonnaise, creme fraiche, mustard, dill, red onion, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a bowl.
  3. Fold in the prawns gently; do not break them. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Chill 20 minutes.
  4. Meanwhile, butter both sides of each bread slice. Fry in a hot pan until deep golden on both sides, 90 seconds per side. Drain on paper.
  5. Place each toast on a chilled plate.
  6. Mound the prawn mix high on each toast, leaving a small border of buttered bread visible.
  7. Spoon a generous nest of lojrom on top of each mound. Crown with the reserved whole prawn and a dill sprig.
  8. Serve with a lemon wedge. Eat immediately while the toast is still warm and the prawn mix cold.

Editor tip. The toast must be fried in butter and just-warm when served; if it cools the toast goes soggy under the cold prawn mix in three minutes flat.