Danish smørrebrød with sardines

For the second time in a row, I went to Denmark with friends over Easter this year to let the waves whirl me around and get swept off my surfboard. On good days, however, one can now also speak of real surfing.

A few days out of the city, enjoying the rough nature and the wide sky, spending the day well wrapped in 5 mm neoprene on the board and in the cold North Sea and ending the evenings with good friends by the fireplace .. .

We always have a lot of fun cooking together! This time I had brought along a few cans of sardines and then let Danish eating habits inspire me to create a Nordic sardine dish – my version of a smørrebrød! The recipe combines various sweet and sour flavors and tastes wonderfully spicy and refreshing. And because we all liked it so much, I re-edited the whole thing at home in Berlin to share it with you.

Ingredients (1 - 2 people)

• 1 can of sardines in olive oil ( e.g. Sardines La Molénaise from Les Mouettes d'Arvor )
• lemon
• Sour cream
• 1 apple
• Gherkins)
• carrot(s)
• salt and pepper

preparation
Drain the sardines, cut lengthwise, drizzle generously with lemon juice, brush with sour cream, lightly salt and set aside. Meanwhile, finely chop the apple (or grate if you like it a little finer), finely chop the gherkin and carrot. Mix well and pour over the marinated sardines.

It is best to serve this with crispy toasted brown bread. And then it's up to you whether you want to eat the bread with the sardines or top it with the sardines, as is traditionally the case with smørrebrød. After trying both variants and finding them both fantastic, I can only say one thing with certainty: Bon appétit or Velbekomme!

Our wine recommendation:
We recommend Les Terrasses Blanc from Château Pesquié for this dish, a refreshing white wine from the Rhône (Côtes du Ventoux) with a fresh, fruity bouquet and a wonderfully crisp acidity.

Another classic is the combination of Sauvignon with fish, which also works wonderfully in this case. Choose here, for example, the Argadens Blanc , a Bordeaux Superior from 2013 with a high Sauvignon percentage with delicate woody notes and a beautiful, long-lasting freshness.

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And because every meal tastes so much better in the right ambience, here are a few more impressions:

(Photos by Pascal Gemmer and Jan-Ole Schmidt)