Karrysalat
Submitted by porwollm
Karrysalat is the Danish curry herring salad with pickled herring, macaroni, cucumber, and mushrooms in a curried sour cream and mayonnaise dressing. A traditional Scandinavian smorrebrod topping with a unique East-meets-North flavor.
YIELD
6 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
20 minREADY
2 hrsKarrysalat is the Danish curry herring salad found on every smorrebrod (open-faced sandwich) menu in Copenhagen. The unlikely pairing of curry powder with pickled herring became a Danish staple in the 19th century, when colonial spice trade brought Indian spices to Scandinavia and creative cooks started folding curry into traditional fish salads.
Salting and resting the cucumber cubes is the step you cannot skip. Cucumbers hold a lot of water that would dilute the dressing and leave you with a soggy salad within an hour. The 15-minute salt draw pulls that moisture out before it can damage the dish.
The pasta is briefly rinsed and patted dry after cooking, which is the opposite of what Italian cooks would do. For a cold salad with a creamy dressing, you want the starch off the noodle so the dressing clings without becoming gloopy.
The Danes prefer the richer second dressing: mayonnaise, sour cream, and curry powder whisked together and added just before serving. Add it too early and the noodles soak it up; right before serving keeps it loose and coating instead of absorbed.
Kitchen Tips
- Use matjes or pickled herring fillets in oil or wine sauce, not herring in cream sauce. The cream-sauce versions clash with the curry dressing.
- Use a mild yellow curry powder, not Madras. The dish wants warm spice notes, not aggressive heat.
- Let the salad rest the full 1 to 2 hours after the vinaigrette stage so the flavors marry, then add the creamy dressing right before serving.
- Serve traditionally on dark rye bread (rugbrod) as smorrebrod, or as a side at a smorgasbord-style spread.
Variations
- Stir in 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh dill for a more Scandinavian herb profile.
- Add ½ cup of diced cooked beets for a colorful Danish-style version.
- Substitute smoked mackerel for the herring if pickled herring is unavailable.
Ingredients
Directions
Scrape out and discard the seeds from the halved cucumber with a teaspoon and slice the halves into ½ inch cubes.
Place these cubes in a small bowl and sprinkle with salt to draw out their excess moisture.
Let the cubes stand 15 minutes, then drain and pat them dry with paper towels.
Cook the macaroni in rapidly boiling salted water for 20 minutes, following the directions on the package.
Meanwhile, wash the herring fillets in cold water, pat them dry with paper towels and cut them into 1½ inch lengths.
Drain the cooked macaroni in a colander, run cold water over it to cool it, then spread out on paper towels to get rid of any excess moisture.
Place the cut-up herring in a salad bowl along with the cucumber, macaroni and sliced raw mushrooms.
In a separate bowl, beat together the vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper with a small wire whisk and pour this mixture over the ingredients in the salad bowl.
With 2 wooden spoons, mix the salad thoroughly but gently.
Refrigerate the salad for 1 to 2 hours before serving.
DRESSING: For a richer dressing, preferred by the Danes, whip the mayonnaise, sour cream and curry powder together in a small bowl and add to the salad just before serving.
Comments