Roast Beef Smørrebrød with Quick Remoulade and Crispy Onions

⏱ 20 min · Serves 4

The Copenhagen lunch classic: dark, dense rye piled with pink roast beef, a tangy homemade remoulade and a shower of crispy fried onions. Ten minutes of assembly, and it looks like it came from a Nyhavn cellar restaurant.

Per serving: 592 kcal · 27.0g protein · 29.0g carbs · 41.0g fat

Ingredients

• 4 slices dense Danish rye bread (rugbrød)
• 40g soft salted butter
• 300g rare roast beef, thinly sliced
• 4 tbsp crispy fried onions
• 1 small handful watercress or picked chervil
• 4 cornichons, fanned, to garnish
• Freshly ground black pepper
• For the remoulade:
• 150g good mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tsp mild curry powder
• 3 tbsp finely chopped cornichons
• 1 tbsp capers, chopped
• 2 tbsp finely diced cooked cauliflower or carrot (optional, traditional)
• 1 tbsp chopped dill
• 2 tsp cornichon pickling liquid
• Pinch of sugar, salt to taste

Method

1. Make the remoulade: stir the mayonnaise, Dijon, curry powder, chopped cornichons, capers, cauliflower or carrot, dill and pickling liquid together in a bowl. Season with a pinch of sugar and salt, then chill for at least 10 minutes so the curry blooms.
2. Butter the rye bread right to the edges — this keeps it from going soggy and is non-negotiable in Denmark.
3. Drape the roast beef over each slice in loose folds rather than flat layers, so the topping stands tall.
4. Spoon a generous ribbon of remoulade down the centre of the beef.
5. Scatter over the crispy onions, add a fan of cornichon and a tuft of watercress or chervil.
6. Grind over black pepper and serve immediately, with a knife and fork and, ideally, a cold beer.