Nailed it Failed it: The Smörgåstårta

Rose Al Attar

This is the Smörgåstårta. I think I nailed it.

Josef Al Attar, Staff Writer

Today, I wanted to try making something unique and different.  I did some research and with the help of my mom, we came up with the idea of making a Swedish meal called Smörgåstårta. My mom was eager to make this because she had lived in Sweden for many years of her life and the Smörgåstårta is a very popular and very delicious dish served for special occasions like holidays such as Christmas or Thanksgiving. The Smörgåstårta translates to “sandwich cake” although it is not a cake, but is very much similar to one because of its garnish layering and many toppings like olives, shrimp, tomatoes, cucumbers, cheese, tuna, and smoked salmon.  Of course, there’s more toppings or ingredients but they are optional.

 

To start, you’ll need to have chopped up tuna combined with a mayo and sour cream mixture.  Egg salad also plays an important role in this dish as you need to mix together mayo, parsley, lemon juice, and seasoning. Last but not least, have some toast prepared. After you’re done preparing everything written above, youre ready for the fun part.

 

We started with the first layer.  We placed the bread and slathered it with the tuna mixture.  After that, you place down the next piece of bread and you’re ready for the second layer.  In this case, we wanted to have the layers alternating between shrimp and the mixtures so we placed the shrimp on the second layer.  We also included the egg salad in this layer.  Now you’re probably thinking, this recipe seems very odd but everything mixes together well and all the ingredients compliment each other, not to mention that it smells great.

 

After finishing the 2nd layer we repeated the process and it started to look delicious.  However, It was missing something.  You can never forget the toppings, that’s what completes the Smörgåstårta.  You can decorate the top however you like. For example, we put shrimp, radish slices, cucumbers, and even smoked salmon on the top.

After all the layering and decorating we tasted it and to no surprise it tasted great. There were many flavors and that’s what makes this dish so unique.