Seasonal bright citrus smörgås (Swedish open-faced sandwich)
Pro tip:
If you’re having trouble finding salmon roe, check your local Whole Foods! They usually have a jar next to the smoked salmon - it can be called “salmon caviar”
It’s March in San Francisco, and the farmers market at the SF ferry building is bursting with citrus stands. This seasonal smörgås (or open-faced Swedish sandwich) celebrates local citrus and avocado alongside smoked salmon and salmon roe and it comes together in minutes.
Working at Octavia as a line cook in SF, I had the chance to taste and cook with some of the freshest produce in the area. The Chef de cuisine had incredible relationships with these farmers and so many unique herbs, fruits, and vegetables came through the doors every weekend because of it.
I’m not embarrassed to admit that it was here I had my first Brokaw ranch avocado. Fast forward 6 months, and the hype is real. These avocados are so buttery and perfect. The ranch also grows a lot of other produce, including tons of citrus varieties. The best part? The avocado costs the same price as an organic avocado from Mexico that’s sold at the grocery store. It takes a little trial and error, but you can find the things that are cheaper or the same price and the payout is worth it.
Ingredients:
A loaf of fresh bread (sourdough or country white would be great)
2oz smoked salmon
2 tbs salmon roe
1/2 medium avocado
3-4 blood orange segments
3-4 grapefruit segments
soft herbs, such as dill (or mint, chevril, chives - anything!)
squeeze of lemon
flakey sea salt
To assemble:
Slice an avocado in half, twist to separate, and cut slices against the peel long ways. Using a spoon, scoop out the avocado getting as much as possible in one movement. Set on a cutting board or flat service and gently push the slices to one side to “fan” out the avocado. It takes some practice but the presentation looks beautiful! You can also just slice the avocado normally OR you can mash the f out of it - your smörgås, your rules
Peel and segment one blood orange and one grapefruit (here’s a helpful video on how to do this). You can also just cut off the outside peel and cut thin cross-sections if you’re not up for segmentation :)
Remove salmon from packaging and set aside 2 slices
Open salmon roe and grab a small spoon to plate
Toast bread, and layer slices of avocado with slices of salmon. Tuck in blood orange and grapefruit segments wherever you’d like - don’t be afraid to let it take height and add some dimension!
Add a few spoonfuls of salmon roe throughout the toast
Place soft herbs
Hit with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and a pinch of flakey sea salt
ENJOY!
See a video of this delicious recipe on my Instagram here 🍓
