Tunnbrödsrulle

Ingredients

The bread

• 4 sheetssoft tunnbröd
• the soft Swedish flatbread
• or 4 large soft flour tortillas
• see the note

The sausages

• 4to 8 hot dog sausages
• or Swedish varmkorv
• boiled or grilled

The mashed potato

• 800 gfloury potatoes
• peeled and boiled
• 100 mlmilk, warmed
• 40 gbutter
• salt and white pepper
• a grating of nutmeg, optional

The shrimp salad

• 200 gcooked cold-water prawns
• small ones, drained well
• 4 tablespoonsmayonnaise
• 2 tablespoonssoured cream
• or crème fraîche
• a squeeze of lemon
• a handful of dill, chopped
• salt and white pepper

To finish

• crispy fried onions
• from a tub
• sliced pickled cucumber
• ketchup and mustard
• or a Swedish sweet mustard

Directions

1. Use floury potatoes. Boil them until completely soft. Drain them thoroughly. Return them to the dry pot. Set it over a low heat for a minute. Shake it to drive off steam. Wet potato gives watery mash. Mash them while hot. Use a masher or a ricer. Never use a food processor on potato.
2. Warm the milk before adding it. Cold milk cools the potato. Warm milk blends in smoothly. Add the butter first, then the milk. It should be soft but not runny. Season it well with salt and white pepper. Add nutmeg if you like. The mash is used warm.
3. Use small cold-water prawns. Large warm-water prawns are wrong here. Drain them very thoroughly. Pat them dry if they are wet. Mix the mayonnaise and soured cream. Add lemon, dill, salt and white pepper.
4. Fold the prawns in gently. The salad should be prawns bound in dressing. Use a generous amount. Boil or grill them. Any hot dog sausage works.
5. Cook sausages through. Cured or pre-cooked sausages still need heating properly. Warm the tunnbröd briefly. A dry pan or a low oven works. Warm bread is pliable. Do not dry it out.
6. Lay the bread flat. Spread mashed potato over most of it. Leave a clear margin at one edge. Spread shrimp salad over the potato. Lay the sausages across the middle. Add pickled cucumber. Add crispy fried onions.
7. Add ketchup and mustard. That stops the wetter fillings soaking through. Add them last so they stay crisp. They soften within minutes. Fold the bottom edge up over the filling. Roll it firmly. Wrap the bottom half in paper. Serve it immediately. It does not keep at all. Assemble fresh each time.

Technique

• Spread the mashed potato directly onto the bread as the first layer. It acts as a barrier that stops the wetter fillings soaking through — a genuine structural reason rather than just an order of assembly.
• Leave a clear margin at one edge. That is what seals the roll, and filling right to the edge makes it burst.
• Warm the flatbread twenty seconds a side. Cold flatbread cracks when rolled, but over-warmed bread goes crisp and will not roll at all.
• Drain the prawns thoroughly and pat them dry, especially if frozen. Wet prawns make a watery salad that soaks the bread.
• Keep the mash a little firmer than you would for a plate. It has to sit on a flatbread without soaking it.
• Never use a food processor on potato. It ruptures the starch cells and makes glue, and the texture cannot be recovered.
• Add the butter before the milk. Fat coats the starch before the liquid arrives, giving a smoother, less gluey mash — and warm the milk, since cold milk cools the potato and stiffens it.
• Dry the boiled potatoes in the pot over low heat for a minute before mashing. It drives off surface water and the difference is real.
• Use small cold-water prawns, which are sweeter and more tender. Large warm-water prawns are wrong here.
• Add the crispy fried onions last. They soften within minutes. Shop-bought ones from a tub are the standard topping rather than a compromise.
• Season the mash properly. Potato absorbs a great deal of salt and bland mash makes a bland roll.
• Mashed potato and prawns in a wrap sounds unlikely and is entirely normal in Sweden. This is late-night food from the korvkiosk, substantial by design and messy to eat, which is expected.
• This contains shellfish, egg, dairy and wheat. Shellfish allergy can cause anaphylaxis — say so plainly. Leaving the shrimp salad out is a common order in Sweden too.

Substitutions

• Large soft flour tortillas replace tunnbröd, without its barley or rye character.
• The shrimp salad can be left out entirely, which is a common order.
• Crème fraîche replaces soured cream in the salad.
• Any hot dog sausage replaces Swedish varmkorv.
• Ordinary mustard replaces sweet Swedish mustard.
• Grilling the sausages rather than boiling gives more flavour.

Variations

• Tunnbrödsrulle without shrimp salad is ordered constantly.
• Halv special is a hot dog with mashed potato served on a plate rather than rolled.
• Korv med bröd is the plain hot dog in a bun.
• Räksmörgås, the Swedish prawn sandwich, uses the same shrimp salad on bread.
• Kebabrulle wraps kebab meat in the same flatbread.
• A version with a fried egg added is sold at some stands.

Frequently asked questions

What is Tunnbrödsrulle?

Tunnbrödsrulle is a street food from Sweden: flatbread roll of hot dog, mashed potato, shrimp salad.

How long does Tunnbrödsrulle take to make?

Tunnbrödsrulle takes 30 minutes of preparation and 20 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes makes 4. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Tunnbrödsrulle?

Yes, within limits. Large soft flour tortillas replace tunnbröd, without its barley or rye character. The shrimp salad can be left out entirely, which is a common order. Crème fraîche replaces soured cream in the salad. Any hot dog sausage replaces Swedish varmkorv. Ordinary mustard replaces sweet Swedish mustard. Grilling the sausages rather than boiling gives more flavour.

What is the most important thing to get right in Tunnbrödsrulle?

Use floury potatoes. Boil them until completely soft. Drain them thoroughly. Return them to the dry pot. Set it over a low heat for a minute. Shake it to drive off steam. Wet potato gives watery mash. Mash them while hot. Use a masher or a ricer. Never use a food processor on potato.