Räkmacka

The räkmacka is Sweden's most beloved open sandwich and a fixture of every seaside café, ferry buffet, and summer kitchen from Gothenburg to Stockholm. It requires no cooking, only the best cold-water prawns, rye bread with some structural conviction, and enough dill to perfume the whole table. At its finest it is a study in Nordic restraint: cold, briny, creamy, and deeply refreshing.

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 4 thick slices dark rye bread (rågsurdeg or limpa)
• 4 tbsp (60g) good-quality mayonnaise
• 1 tsp (5ml) fresh lemon juice, plus wedges to serve
• 600g (1 lb 5 oz) cooked cold-water prawns (shrimp), shell-on weight about 1.2 kg / 2½ lb; shelled and chilled
• 4 large leaves butterhead lettuce
• 2 hard-boiled eggs, cooled and sliced into rounds
• 2 tbsp (30g) crème fraîche or smetana
• Large bunch fresh dill, fronds only
• Black pepper to taste
• Lemon wedges and thinly sliced cucumber, to serve

Instructions

1. Stir the lemon juice into the mayonnaise. Spread a generous layer on each slice of rye bread.
2. Place a lettuce leaf on each slice, folding it to sit neatly within the edges.
3. Pile the cold prawns high in the centre of each sandwich — räkmacka is generous almost to the point of excess.
4. Arrange sliced egg on top of or beside the prawns.
5. Add a small spoonful of crème fraîche over the prawns.
6. Scatter a large quantity of fresh dill fronds over everything. Season with black pepper.
7. Tuck cucumber slices beside the sandwich and add a lemon wedge. Serve immediately, cold.

Cook's Notes: Cold-water North Sea prawns (from Norway or Iceland) are tiny, sweet, and incomparable. Do not substitute warm-water tiger prawns — the flavour profile is completely different. Assemble no more than 5 minutes before serving or the bread softens.