Swedes often like to eat red beet salad on their breads, and we call breads with toppings a smörgås. This is a smörgås burger featuring a cold beet and quinoa tartar patty topped with a peppery horseradish cream. The twist here is the avocado used in place of bread. Though avocado is not a traditional Scandinavian ingredient, it’s a perfect fit with the cool Nordic flavors. You can serve the beet tartar patty on regular bread too, of course.
Ingredients
For Horseradish Sour Cream
- 6¾ fluid ounces (200 ml) crème fraîche, Greek yogurt, sour cream, or vegan yogurt-crème fraîche
- 3 tablespoons (50 ml) freshly grated horseradish (adjust strength after tasting)
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- Salt, to taste
For Patties
- 9 ounces (250 g) cooked and peeled beets, finely chopped
- 3 ounces (75 g) red quinoa, cooked and drained
- 1 teaspoon honey or agave syrup
- ½ cup (75 g) goat cheese, feta cheese, or vegan cheese, in fine crumbles
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 scallions, chopped finely
- 4 avocados, halved lengthwise and pitted
For Toppings
- Pickled Onion
- Fresh green salad
- Horseradish Sour Cream
- Root Crisps
- Fresh lemon wedges
- Sprouts (I used beet sprouts.)
How to Make It
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To make the Horseradish Sour Cream
- Mix the ingredients together, cover, and place in the fridge until assembly. To make the patties
- Combine the patty ingredients in a bowl. Shape 4 patties and place them on a tray. Cover with plastic, and refrigerate for 15 minutes or up to 24 hours.
- Slice the rounding on an avocado half’s backside so that it will stand stable on a flat surface. Top with a beet tartar patty and toppings. Top with a second avocado half if you like a top bun, or enjoy it as a smörgås—open.
