A Danish coastal-style shrimp and rice dish built on brown butter, dill and lemon, the flavors of a classic reje smørrebrød.
There's no historic Danish seafood rice, but Denmark's coastline has a real and deep relationship with small, sweet cold-water shrimp (rejer), most famously piled onto rye bread with mayonnaise, lemon and dill for one of the country's most beloved smørrebrød toppings. This recipe takes those same defining flavors — shrimp, dill, lemon and a rich butter — and builds them into a rice dish instead of a sandwich topping, staying honest about the fact that the format is an adaptation rather than tradition. The shrimp are barely cooked, warmed through in browned butter just until they turn pink, since Danish cold-water shrimp are naturally sweet and easily overcooked into rubberiness. A generous amount of fresh dill and a squeeze of lemon are stirred through at the very end, echoing the same bright, herbal freshness that makes a reje smørrebrød so appealing, and a spoonful of crème fraîche folded through the rice at the end gives it a lightly creamy finish reminiscent of the mayonnaise traditionally used.
Serves 4
Simmer the rice in water or fish stock with a pinch of salt, covered, 15-18 minutes until tender. Let it rest covered for 5 minutes off the heat.
Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat and cook until it turns golden brown and smells nutty, 3-4 minutes, watching closely so it doesn't burn.
Add the shallot to the browned butter and cook 2 minutes until softened.
Add the cooked shrimp and warm through gently for 1-2 minutes, just until heated — they're already cooked, so avoid extended heat.
Fold the shrimp and butter mixture through the warm rice along with the lemon zest and juice.
Stir in the crème fraîche, dill, salt and white pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning, then serve immediately while warm.
Use already-cooked cold-water shrimp if you can find them — they're naturally sweeter and more tender than warm-water shrimp, and match the Danish original more closely.
Watch the butter closely while browning; it goes from nutty to burnt within seconds once it starts to color.
Add the shrimp only to warm through, not to cook from raw, since pre-cooked shrimp turn rubbery fast with extra heat.
True smørrebrød style: skip the rice and pile the buttered shrimp, dill and lemon onto slices of buttered rye bread instead.
Herb swap: add chives alongside the dill for extra freshness.
Egg addition: top each bowl with a wedge of hard-boiled egg, a classic pairing with Danish shrimp dishes.
Best eaten fresh, but leftovers keep refrigerated up to 1 day; reheat gently over low heat since the shrimp toughen with extended reheating.
Rejer (small cold-water shrimp) piled on buttered rye bread with mayonnaise, lemon and dill is one of Denmark's most iconic smørrebrød toppings, a coastal tradition tied to the country's North Sea and Baltic shrimp fisheries; this rice format borrows those flavors honestly while adapting the presentation.
They're small, sweet shrimp caught in the cold waters around Denmark and Scandinavia, prized for their delicate flavor and most famously served piled onto buttered rye bread as a smørrebrød topping.
Yes, though the flavor will be less sweet and delicate — if using raw shrimp, cook them separately first until just pink, then proceed with the recipe the same way.
The rice format is a modern adaptation — traditionally these flavors appear on open-faced rye bread, not in a rice dish — but the shrimp, dill, lemon and butter combination is authentically Danish.
Per serving (380g / 13.4 oz) · 4 servings total
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