Smoked Salmon and Egg Breakfast Smorebrot

Smoked Salmon is probably one of the best known and most popular smoked fishes there is. I mean you'd almost have to be living under a rock these days in the U.S. not to have had exposure to it. It's good many times of the day but truth be told breakfast is my favorite time of day to enjoy it.

I'm obsessed with opened faced sandwiches and ever since being a kid and growing up with mother and grandmother who had Scandinavian roots I have loved sandwiches like these.  They are called Smorebrot that's the original term and they are normally served at lunch or for a light supper. Not having the top piece of bread just makes the sandwich more about the filling than the bread I feel. Unless you are grilling a sandwich or making a deli classic I just enjoy a good opened faced dish.

To make a great opened face Smorebrot or you have to start with great bread. So here I started with a delicious sourdough 7 grain loaf that I got at the Oakland farmer's market and brought back to NYC with me.

To this I added a layer of scallion cream cheese mixed loaded with scallions and chives. Then I added the Salmon. Now mind you this was no ordinary smoked salmon, no this was Pastrami smoked salmon. It has an unrivaled flavor and is so herbacious it makes one's taste buds spin. Pastrami we normally think of as beef. But here the same spices used to cure pastrami are used to sure the salmon. It's delicious.

But since this is breakfast we topped this off with a fried egg and then some chives for color and taste.

So give these a try you can easily find all the ingredients at the market and frying the egg is the hardest thing.  Enjoy!


Smoked Salmon Smorebrot
Serves 4

4 slices of good bread cut 1/2 inch thick and toasted
12 ounces of pastrami smoked Salmon
Scallion cream cheese ( You can buy this from your favorite bagel place or supermarket or make it yourself by blending room temperature cream cheese with loads of chopped scallions and chives and some salt.
4 eggs cooked sunny side up.

Assemble all ingredients as shown in order and garnish with some parsley or more chives and some sea salt and pepper

Egg Salad

Eggs are probably one of the most versatile foods around and egg salad is definitely one dish that most people first encounter at home. Your Mom probably mashed up eggs, mayo, maybe onion or celery and some salt and pepper and piled it on bread or toast. It's a simple dish and one that can bring back the memory of weekend lunches or Summer picnics.

Egg salad is also a deli case favorite and here in all Deli's all over New York. It's served up traditionally on sandwiches and even for breakfast on bagels toasted and crispy. Often this egg salad is also pretty simple and often the bagels chosen as a favorite is the everything bagel which is a bagel covered with spices and seeds and is in fact just delicious.

So I found myself with some eggs I needed to use up and a bottle of "Everything Spices" from "Trader Joe's" and I thought lets try and make a really cool egg salad that takes the salad and the bagel and brings it all together.

Now let's face it. The base of any great sandwich is the bread. But these days many of us are trying to eat less bread. Having grown up in a family that was half Scandinavian I grew up eating open face sandwiches. As they are traditional in the nordic kitchen. They are also a way to cut down on the bread factor without taking away all the "carby" enjoyment that goes along with eating a sandwich.

I used a sourdough 7 grain loaf from the farmer's market that I sliced the perfect thickness and toasted. Delicious!

So here's my take on Egg Salad. I hope you enjoy!

7 eggs boiled cooled and peeled
2/3 cup mayo plus one Tablespoon
1/4 cup very finely chopped green onion white and green
3/4 cup chopped celery
1 Tablespoon dill or sweet pickle relish (depending on your taste)
1/4 cup chopped dill
2 teaspoons lemon juice
dash of curry powder
2 teaspoons "Everything Seasoning" (Contains salt)
Japanese Style Fried Onions
Dried Parsley for garnish

Method:

In a bowl mash eggs and add all ingredients mash again to combine then stir to make smooth and creamy. Taste for seasoning add salt and pepper as desired.

Top toast generously with the egg salad and sprinkle with more "everything seasoning" and top with the fried onions. Enjoy!