Ägghalvor med räkor och löjrom
Egg Halves with Shrimp and Roe- Yield
- 12 egg halves (serves 6 as a starter)
- Active
- 20 minutes
- Total
- 45 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
The story
Swedes hold their main Easter meal on påskafton, Easter Eve, which falls on Saturday, March 27, in 2027. The Church of Sweden parish in Lidingö explains why: days were traditionally counted from six in the evening before, so the celebration starts a day early. The meal is a påskbord, a buffet-style Easter table, and the Michelin Guide names eggs and salmon as its essentials, served several ways. Eggs carry the most history. Church of Sweden pages note that eating eggs was forbidden during the forty days of Lent, while hens began laying again in spring, so eggs piled up and Easter turned into an egg feast. In the old farming society people even held contests, knocking eggs against each other to see whose shell held. Many are served halved, and the ScandiCuisine guide to Swedish Easter names egg halves with shrimp and dill as a favorite. A spoonful of roe adds color and salt. The prized choice is löjrom, the small golden roe of vendace, though ICA's recipe lists lumpfish roe as an alternative. Plan on two halves per person and set them out with pickled herring, gravlax and boiled new potatoes with dill.
Ingredients
- 6 large eggs
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons sour cream or crème fraîche
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill, plus small sprigs for garnish
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 small bunch garden cress or 6 small butter lettuce leaves
- 4 oz cooked and peeled small cold-water shrimp, thawed and patted dry
- 3 oz löjrom (vendace roe), whitefish roe or salmon roe
Sold frozen at Scandinavian shops and online. Whitefish roe, salmon roe or lumpfish caviar from the supermarket fish counter work well.
Look for frozen cooked 'salad' shrimp or Northern (Maine) shrimp; otherwise cut larger cooked shrimp into bite-size pieces.
Method
- Put the eggs in a saucepan in a single layer, cover with cold water by 1 inch, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover, take the pan off the heat, and let stand 10 to 11 minutes for firm yolks.
- Move the eggs to a bowl of ice water and let them cool for 10 minutes, which keeps a gray ring from forming around the yolks. Peel them, halve them lengthwise with a wet knife, and trim a thin slice off the rounded side so each half sits flat.
- Stir together the mayonnaise, sour cream, chopped dill and lemon juice.
- Spread the cress or lettuce on a platter and set the egg halves on it, yolk side up.
- Spoon about 2 teaspoons of the dill mayonnaise onto each half. Top with 2 or 3 shrimp and a small spoonful of roe, and finish with a dill sprig.
- Serve within 1 hour, or refrigerate the topped eggs without the roe, covered, for up to 4 hours and add the roe just before serving so its color does not bleed.
Note: Boil and peel the eggs up to 2 days ahead and keep them covered in the refrigerator; top them shortly before serving. Keep the platter out no longer than 2 hours, and do not use dyed Easter eggs that have sat at room temperature.