Nordic Open Faced Smoked Salmon Sandwiches are exquisitely delicate and healthy tea sandwiches made with thin slices of rye bread, silky salmon, and my special dilled mayonnaise ~ this is clean eating that that also happens to be insanely delicious.

Nordic Open Faced Smoked Salmon Sandwiches

today we’re venturing into the world of Nordic cuisine.

It’s been in the public eye in the last few years, partly because of Danish chef and restauranteur René Redzepi. He’s singlehandedly reinvigorated Scandinavian cuisine with clean, lean, innovative dishes that he presents with exquisite simplicity. His creative menus utilize fresh, local foods, foraged from nearby woods and waters, and he has become one of the most influential chefs in the world.

These Nordic smoked salmon open sandwiches are an homage to that spare, cutting-edge style, but funnily enough, they also look like they’d be right at home at a turn of the century tea party. They’re ideal for spring entertaining…wedding and baby showers, Easter brunch, Passover, or just your first picnic of the season. They’re basically spring on a plate–and couldn’t we all use a little bit of that on this last day of February?

these smoked salmon sandwiches are layered with an eye toward color and texture.

To start, the thinly-sliced dark pumpernickel bread gets a quick toasting in the oven, then a lashing of freshly made dill mayonnaise. I used my favorite quick and easy method, which you can read about in the original 30 SECOND MAYO post— and I added a handful of dill for color and lots of grassy spring flavor.

The mayo itself is worth the price of admission, you can use it on regular sandwiches, make deviled eggs with it, or use it as the base for tuna and chicken salads.

These open faced sandwiches are as beautiful as they are delicious

I topped each layered sandwich with an edible flower just for fun, but also because that is part of the Nordic foraging sensibility. There are lots to choose from, including nasturtiums, pansies, roses, violets, and marigolds, just to name a few of the more common ones. Micro-greens are also perfect for this kind of application because they are so small, they fit perfectly on the little slices of bread without overwhelming them.

where to find thin rye bread

You should be able to find the thin bread, usually imported, in the bread aisle, but ask if you have trouble. This kind of ultra thinly sliced and dense bread is essential to these sandwiches, don’t try to substitute regular bread, it just won’t be the same.

turn these tea sandwiches into a light meal

I’ve made these Nordic smoked salmon sandwiches quite dainty, but if you want to make these heartier, use goat or cream cheese in place of the mayo, and maybe add some thinly sliced red onion, or a slice of boiled egg along with the salmon. Obviously this concept is meant to be played with. Thinly sliced cold steak would be amazing — just add creamed horseradish, onion, or delicate fried shallots for a completely different experience. Mmmmm, I just talked myself into trying that one.

I am super inspired by Nordic food these days. If you are, too, check our my roundup of 20 NORDIC RECIPES TO TRY RIGHT NOW!

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I use my Immersion blender a lot in my kitchen. I have always used it to blend soups etc. right in the pot, but I have to say that ever since I discovered how easy it is to make mayo, dressings, and sauces, it’s become one of my most beloved tools. It’s not expensive, it’s very easy to clean because the top screws right off for rinsing, and it has a solid, heavy feel to it.