Smørrebrød with cauliflower

There aren’t many vegetarian smørrebrød in the smørrebrød kitchen, but one that we at Aamanns have had great success with is the cauliflower smørrebrød. Fried cauliflower florets, herb mayonnaise, crispy kale, pickled red onions and tarragon served on a good slice of rye bread is simply an incredibly tasty combination.

Ingredients

Basic mayonnaise recipe
2 egg yolks
400 ml sunflower oil
1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Urtemayo
200 ml of picked tarragon leaves
100 ml lovage leaves
400 ml sunflower oil
2 egg yolks
1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Crispy kale
4–5 handfuls of kale leaves
A little oil for roasting in the oven
Sea salt
Pickled red onions
750 g onions, preferably red, shallots or Italian Borettane onions
2 tbsp sea salt
250 ml apple cider vinegar
200 ml water
250 g honey
2 sprigs of thyme
2 bay leaves
10 peppercorns
1 tsp sea salt
Cauliflower
1 small cauliflower
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
Serving
4 slices of wholemeal rye bread
2 tbsp toasted almonds
A little tarragon, if desired

See video guides here

Instructions

Basic mayonnaise recipe

Place the egg yolks in a bowl with the mustard, 1 tbsp vinegar, a little salt and pepper, and whisk well. Now whisk the oil into the egg yolks a little at a time in a thin stream. Pour slowly enough to allow the oil to be fully incorporated into the egg yolks. Pause occasionally whilst adding the oil and whisk the mayonnaise thoroughly. Continue until all the oil has been added, then whisk in a little water – this helps to ensure that the mayonnaise doesn’t separate and that it has a nice, smooth consistency. Finally, season to taste with salt and, if desired, a little extra vinegar. Immediately place the mayonnaise in the fridge, where it will set.

Urtemayo

Rinse your herbs (we recommend tarragon and lovage leaves for this dish) and pat them dry with a piece of kitchen roll. Place the leaves in a blender along with the oil and blend until the oil is green and free of any whole pieces of herb. Pour the oil through a fine-mesh sieve

See how Adam makes the perfect herb mayonnaise here

Pickled red onions

Peel the onions and cut them lengthways into 2 cm-wide wedges, following the grain of the onion. Toss the onions thoroughly with salt in a bowl and leave them to stand for about 1 hour. Place the onions in a sieve, rinse them briefly, then transfer them to a sterilised preserving jar. Place all the ingredients for the syrup in a saucepan and bring to the boil until the honey has completely dissolved. Allow the syrup to cool, then pour it over the onions. The onions will keep for about a week in the fridge.

Crispy kale

Rinse the kale leaves, tear them into smaller pieces and set half aside for garnishing. Preheat the oven to 120 degrees. Toss the rest of the kale with a little olive oil and salt, spread the leaves out on a baking tray lined with baking paper and bake in the preheated oven for approx. 16–18 minutes, until crisp.

Cauliflower

Divide the cauliflower into about 12 florets. Heat a frying pan well with butter and olive oil and fry the cauliflower over a high heat until it is nicely browned. Place them on a plate and leave them to cool slightly before arranging them on the rye bread.

Serving

Spread a little mayonnaise on the rye bread, arrange the fried cauliflower on top, add small dollops of herb mayonnaise, followed by the crispy kale and pickled red onions, and finally sprinkle with chopped, toasted almonds and tarragon.