Honsesalat

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy saucepan with a lid for poaching
• •Vegetable peeler for the asparagus
• •Sharp knife
• •Large mixing bowl
• •Frying pan for the bacon

Instructions

1. 1

   Poach the chicken

   Place the chicken breasts in a snug saucepan and cover with cold water by a finger's width. Add the onion, carrot, bay leaf, peppercorns, and a generous pinch of salt. Bring slowly to the barest simmer. You want the surface trembling, not bubbling. Cook for fifteen to eighteen minutes, then take the pot off the heat and leave the chicken to rest in the hot liquid for another ten minutes. Starting in cold water and resting in the broth is what keeps the meat moist. A hard boil tightens the fibers and you lose the silkiness that makes this salad worth eating.

   Save the poaching liquid. Strained and reduced, it becomes a light chicken stock that you can use tomorrow for something else. Nothing in a Danish kitchen goes to waste.
2. 2

   Prepare the asparagus

   If you have fresh white asparagus, peel the stems carefully from just below the tip all the way to the base. White asparagus skin is tough and bitter, and you must peel it or the whole salad will taste of it. Bring a pot of salted water to a gentle simmer and cook the spears for five to seven minutes, until a knife slides through the thickest part with no resistance. Drain and cool in iced water to stop the cooking, then pat dry. If you're using jarred, simply drain and press gently on kitchen paper to remove the brine.

3. 3

   Season the mushrooms

   Toss the sliced raw mushrooms with the lemon juice and a small pinch of salt. The lemon does two things at once: it keeps the mushrooms pale instead of going grey, and it seasons them from the inside out as they sit. Leave them for five minutes while you make the dressing.

4. 4

   Make the curry cream

   In a bowl large enough to hold everything, whisk the mayonnaise with the creme fraiche until smooth. Add the curry powder and whisk it through. Let the dressing sit for at least ten minutes before you use it. Curry powder is raw spice, and it needs time to bloom in the cream. If you skip the rest, it tastes dusty. If you wait, it tastes rounded and warm.

   Use a mild curry powder, not a hot one. Danish curry is gentle and aromatic, closer to a korma than a vindaloo. The curry should whisper under the chicken, not shout over it.
5. 5

   Fold everything together

   Lift the chicken from its broth and pull the skin away. Take the meat off the bone and cut it into bite-sized pieces, about two centimetres. Cut the asparagus into similar lengths, keeping the tips whole because they are the prettiest part. Add the chicken, asparagus, and seasoned mushrooms to the curry cream and fold everything together gently with a spatula. You are folding, not stirring. Stirring crushes the asparagus and turns the salad into paste. Taste, and season with salt and white pepper until it is exactly right. Cover and chill for at least thirty minutes. The salad needs this time for the flavors to settle into each other.

6. 6

   Fry the bacon

   Lay the bacon rashers in a cold, dry frying pan and set it over medium heat. Starting the bacon cold lets the fat render slowly, which is how you get bacon that is properly crisp all the way through rather than chewy in the middle. Turn once when the underside is deep golden, and cook until both sides are dark and brittle. Drain on kitchen paper and, when cool enough to handle, crumble into rough pieces.

7. 7

   Assemble the smorrebrod

   Spread each slice of rugbrod with a thin layer of soft butter, going right to the edges. The butter is not a flavor choice. It's a barrier that keeps the bread from going soggy under the salad. Pile the honsesalat generously onto each slice, leaving a narrow border of dark bread visible around the edge. Scatter the crumbled bacon across the top and finish with a shower of snipped chives. Serve at once with a cold beer or a glass of dry white wine. Tak for mad.

Chef Tips

• •Poach a whole chicken instead of breasts if you have the time. The meat is more flavorful, you get dark and white together, and the resulting broth is twice as good as anything you can buy.
• •Danish white asparagus is in season from late April through June. Fresh is the gift of spring and it's worth waiting for. Outside those weeks, use good-quality jarred asparagus from Germany or Denmark and drain it well. It's a different dish, but still a true one.
• •Honsesalat is better the next day. Make it the afternoon before you want to serve it, cover it tightly, and let the flavors settle overnight in the fridge. This is a make-ahead dish by nature, which is why it belongs at Easter and at every Danish lunch that has guests coming.
• •A glass of cold Riesling or a crisp Danish pilsner is the right drink alongside. The curry wants something with a little sweetness behind the dryness.

Advance Preparation

• •The chicken can be poached up to two days ahead. Keep it in its strained broth in the fridge so the meat stays moist.
• •The full salad can be assembled a day in advance and kept covered in the fridge. The flavors deepen overnight, which is why Danish cooks always make it the day before Easter.
• •Fry the bacon and assemble the smorrebrod only when you're ready to serve. Bacon loses its crackle within an hour of frying, and rugbrod under a wet topping goes soft. The salad itself waits patiently. The assembly does not.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 340g)