Dill poached shrimp with horseradish cream cocktail sauce
Pro tip:
Set up your ice bath while your water is coming to a simmer so there’s no chance of over cooking your shrimp after they’re finished poaching!
A couple of summers ago, my friends and I had the best time to visiting my family in Dalarna, Sweden for the Midsommar holiday. I truly wish I could bring every friend I have to experience this insanely incredible weekend! My family and their friends are such a blast, we do all of the traditional Midsommar activities like make flower crowns, take fika (sweet / coffee) breaks, dance around the maypole, sing drinking songs and of course - drink schnapps. I’ll never forget when my brother thought you drank the schnapps like a regular shot vs sipping on it (he was also maybe 16). Burns so good!
Shrimp is incredibly popular in Sweden year round, but it feels like it’s around every corner during the summertime. There are bay shrimp (little tiny guys) all the way to large prawns. I was reading up a little more on the biggest fishing regions in Sweden and found that there’s even a Swedish proverb about shrimp - "Att glida in på en räkmacka" which means "gliding in on a shrimp sandwich." Apparently, it is referring to anything done “effortlessly” because the shrimp slip and slide around an open faced sandwich loaded with mayonnaise and creme fraiche. I’ll have to ask the Swedes what they have to say about this one!
Playing off the massive shrimp cocktail culture in the US, I wanted to make a shrimp cocktail that somewhat resembled the open faced shrimp sandwich “skagenröra”. What’s better than a “white” creamy cocktail sauce loaded with horseradish to dip these poached shrimp in? I’m not the biggest creme fraiche fan, so I always defer to greek yogurt and it works well for me!
Ingredients:
Poached shrimp
1 lb tail on, peeled, deveined shrimp
2-3 peeled and smashed garlic cloves
1 lemon, halved and juiced (save the halves)
1 bunch dill roughly torn
Horseradish cream cocktail sauce
⅓ cup mayo
⅓ cup greek yogurt
⅓ cup fresh prepared horseradish (no cream - I used Bubbie’s brand)
⅓ cup chopped finely chopped dill
1 lemon juiced - use to taste, starting with 1 tbs mixed in
Salt and pepper to taste
To poach the shrimp:
Add the torn bunches of dill, a few garlic cloves (smashed), and 1 lemon halved and squeezed into a pot of water
While the water is coming to a simmer, prepare an ice bath for the shrimp, combining a few cups of ice into a bowl with some cold water to cover
Bring aromatic water just to a simmer and turn off the heat
Add 1lb of tail on, peeled, deveined shrimp into the water
Cover and let the shrimp poach for 90 seconds (for medium shrimp) and up to 2-2.5 minutes depending on how large they are
Immediately transfer the poached shrimp to the ice bath and let cool
Take out and blot dry
To make the cocktail sauce:
Mix all ingredients in a bowl and stir well
Season with additional horseradish, salt, pepper, and / or lemon juice as desired!
So there you have it! Take a break from the traditional ketchup based cocktail sauce (even though we love you) and impress your friends with this Swedish-shrimp sandwich inspired combo.
Hope you love it 🍓
PS. Check out the video of how I made this on my Instagram!
