Smørrebrød with Blue Cheese, Honey, Walnuts and Pear

Blue cheese with honey, walnuts and pear © kvalifood.com

Blue cheese on rye is one of the smørrebrød that often rounds off lunch as a kind of dessert. Danablu was invented in 1927 by Marius Boel as a Danish alternative to Roquefort, and it has since become a fixture on the Danish cheese board. The combination with honey and ripe pear balances the cheese’s salty, sharp flavour with sweetness and freshness, while the toasted walnuts add crunch and a nutty depth. It is a combination also known from French and Italian cooking, but on dark rye bread it takes on a distinctly Nordic character.

Blue cheese with honey, walnuts and pear assembly © kvalifood.com
Blue cheese with honey, walnuts and pear assembly © kvalifood.com

Ingredients

Yields 4 servings

Toasted walnuts

  • 50 g walnuts
  • 1 tsp honey
  • flaky salt

Assembly

  • 4 slices dark rye bread
  • butter, for the bread
  • 150 g Danish blue cheese (e.g. Danablu Extra Creamy)
  • 1 ripe pear, thinly sliced
  • 2 tbsp liquid honey
  • watercress
  • coarsely ground black pepper

Directions

Toasted walnuts

Toast the walnuts in a dry pan for 3 minutes. Add the honey and flaky salt. Leave to cool and break into rough pieces.

Assembly

Butter the rye bread. Distribute the blue cheese in thick pieces. Lay pear slices on top. Scatter the toasted walnuts over. Drizzle with honey. Garnish with watercress and pepper.