Scandinavian deviled eggs with smoked salmon mousse are a Nordic twist to deviled eggs. Eggs stuffed with salmon are a classic on the Swedish Easter table. Taking inspiration from my host country here’s the recipe to smoked salmon deviled eggs. Egg halves are filled with smoked salmon mousse, brightly flavoured with lemon zest and dill. Smoked salmon mousse is a delicious filling for boiled eggs, and fish roe is the perfect decoration. This upcoming Easter move on to a new deviled eggs recipe and try the Swedish stuffed eggs.
This Scandinavian deviled eggs with smoked salmon recipe could do great any time of the year but frankly deviled eggs are a perfect Easter appetizer. Easter is, after all, that time of the year when you want lots of eggs. (Of course also chocolate eggs.) What’s great about these Scandinavian deviled eggs? They’re very easy to make, they look pretty and most of all they taste fabulous! And what is the most Scandinavian ingredient we could get? Well, salmon of course. These Scandinavian deviled eggs are stuffed with a lovely smoked salmon mousse.
I love the Swedish way of eating on big occasions. It could be the most important calendar festivity, like Christmas or Easter, or it could be someone’s wedding – the Swedes will set up a fantastic buffet. And I love everything about it. I love the fact that all the food is there to choose from, and you don’t have to wonder what’s coming next. I love that you are free to take as much as you wish of whatever you wish. You may as well skip the regular order of things and start from the dessert table. Or mix fish and meat on the same plate because why not. I really like this freedom. But what I love the most is that everyone is equal, everyone helps themselves.
Eggs are quite an important part of the Nordic diet. A beloved breakfast item, you can count on the fact that a traditional Swedish buffet will feature some sort of deviled eggs. The combination of eggs and fish is quite an interesting feature, too. Swedish buffet dining usually implies quite a lot of fish. It should come as no surprise that the most popular ways of making deviled eggs in Scandinavia is with fish – shrimps or fish roe. Hence the inspiration for these Scandinavian deviled eggs with smoked salmon mousse and fish roe.
Related: review and photos of a traditional Scandinavian buffet served on a cruise on the Baltic.
Smoked salmon mousse with lemon and dill
Smoked salmon mousse is wonderfully delicate and fresh thanks to two ingredients: fresh dill and lemon. Both these condiments give salmon mousse a wonderful flavour, perfectly balancing the fishy and smokey notes and creating a delicious outcome. To make smoked salmon mousse is very simple, as you just have to blend cold-smoked salmon and cream cheese, and add lemon (both the zest and some juice) and minced fresh dill. The end product is a salmon mousse with a creamy texture that is perfect to pipe – onto your eggs or crackers, crisp bread, toast, you name it.
I first tasted smoked salmon mousse last Christmas. One of the traditional Swedish Christmas dinners I attended featured smoked salmon mousse on the buffet. Now the thing to know about traditional Swedish food is that most of the dishes are recurring, while only a few are reserved to a certain time of the year. Salmon – especially smoked salmon – is one of those items that never goes missing, and there are various ways of serving it, including mousse. As I wrote before, another item that you will always find on a Swedish buffet are stuffed eggs (fyllda ägg in Swedish).
More deviled eggs? Try these avocado tuna stuffed eggs!
How to make Scandinavian deviled eggs
The most common way of preparing deviled eggs in Scandinavia is either with fish roe (caviar) or shrimp. In traditional deviled eggs recipes the yolk is removed from the hard boiled egg halves and blended with cream cheese to make the filling. In more than one occasion, though, I have seen that this is not always true in Scandinavia. At several of the Christmas tables I attended the eggs were just cut in half and the filling was piped over the yolk. While I think it’s really cute when the filling fills the hole left by the yolk, I agree that sometimes you may want to keep the eggy flavour away from the filling, and only have the flavours combine once you bite into your food.
More Christmas Swedish food: a review of Julbord at a ski resort.
So in order to make Scandinavian deviled eggs with smoked salmon mousse you just need to cook your eggs hard boiled, cool them to room temperature, cut them in half and pipe the salmon mousse on top of each egg. To make hard boiled eggs I recommend using eggs at room temperature. I usually place the eggs in the pot with cold water from the start, and calculate 8-10 minutes from boiling time. If you don’t have a special plate with holes for egg halves, I recommend cutting off a thin slice from the side of the egg to even its roundness so that it will not wobble and capsize once filled.
The perfect combination between fish and egg, these Scandinavian deviled eggs could become your next favourite on your Easter buffet. The smoked salmon mousse filling leftovers can become a fantastic spread on toast, or you can just pipe it into tiny bowls and enjoy it on its own – this could be a great alternative to serve to people allergic to eggs. Since we did not combine the egg yolks with the filling, the smoked salmon mousse alone is free from eggs.
More Easter menu inspo: bird’s nest cupcakes on eggy Portuguese sponge cake.
Scandinavian deviled eggs with smoked salmon mousse
Ingredients
- 5 eggs
- 200 g cream cheese
- 150 g cold-smoked salmon
- 1 tsp minced dill
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- zest from 1/2 lemon
- fish roe and extra dill sprigs (for decoration)
Instructions
- Place the eggs (that must be at room temperature) in a pot and fill the pot with water until all the eggs are covered. Fresh eggs should stay on the bottom of the pot; replace any egg that might be floating.
- Set the pot on high heat and bring to a boil. When the water boils, lower the heat to medium-high and let boil for 8-10 minutes (depending on the size of the eggs). When 8-10 minutes have passed, drainthe water and rinse the boiled eggs under cold water until they cool to room temperature.
- While the eggs are cookin, you can prepare the smoked salmon mousse. Combine the cream cheese and smoked salmon in a container and blend until smooth. Since I use a hand blender, I usually cut the salmon slices in bits - alternatively you can just use a food processor and add the salmon slices whole. Finely mince the dill and add to salmon mixture, zest the lemon and add both the zest and juice. Stir to combine.
- When the eggs have cooled to room temperature, remove shells and cut in half lengthwise. Cut off a little slice from both sides in order to even out the egg's roundness in order to make a flat base to prevent eggs from capsizing. Fill a pastry bag with the salmon mousse and pipe onto each egg half. Decorate with fish roe, dill sprigs or extra lemon zest. Keep refrigerated until serving.
These deviled eggs look so tasty. I love the idea of leaving the yolk and piping the mousse on top. Want to try these our wedding anniversary party next weekend!
Congratulations! I hope you will have a fantastic party!