These Danish open-faced sandwiches from The Natural Food Kitchen make a great lunch, or if made smaller can become lovely canapes.

Ingredients

• 1/2 red onion, very thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 3 new potatoes
• 1/2 avocado, peeled and pitted
• 3 tbsp Homemade Mayonnaise (see recipe below) or good-quality store-bought brand
• 4 slices rye bread
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• Small handful watercress
• 2 baby pickled gherkins, thinly sliced
• 1 radish, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp finely chopped chives
• 2 asparagus spears
• 3 1/2 oz smoked salmon, sliced
• Small handful fresh dill

Directions

1 Place the sliced red onion in a bowl with the red wine vinegar. Leave to pickle and colour for at least 30 minutes.

2 Place the new potatoes in a saucepan of lightly salted water and bring to a boil. Simmer just until tender, about 10 minutes depending on the size of the potatoes (a sharp knife should glide in without much resistance); drain and cool. Slice the potatoes and the avocado into 1/2"-thick slices.

3 Spread a thin layer of mayonnaise on each slice of bread. Top 2 of the bread slices with layers of potato and avocado, and sprinkle with a little sea salt and black pepper.

4 Spoon some of the remaining mayonnaise across the centre of each slice of bread, then place the watercress on top of the line of mayonnaise.

5 Arrange a few slices of gherkin on top and scatter with some of the pickled red onion and radish slices. Finally, sprinkle with the chives.

6 For the other 2 slices of bread, first use a vegetable peeler to shave the asparagus spears lengthwise into thin ribbons. Place the smoked salmon on the bread and spoon the remaining mayonnaise on top. Curl the shaved asparagus with your fingers and place on top, and finally finish with some dill.

7 Season with a sprinkle of sea salt and black pepper and serve immediately.

Serves: 2

Homemade Mayonnaise
 

Ingredients

• 2 egg yolks
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
• 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• Large pinch sea salt
• 1 1/4 cups good-quality extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 1/4 cups sunflower oil

Directions

1 Place all the ingredients except the olive and sunflower oils in the bowl of a food processor.

2 In another small bowl, stir together the olive and sunflower oils. With the processor running, slowly add the combined oils, a little at a time, until the mixture begins to emulsify and come together. Once this happens you can add the oil a bit faster, but don’t be tempted to pour it in too quickly or it will split. (Have a little cup of boiling water ready in case this happens, as a few drops added in when it is looking like it might split usually brings it back together.)

3 When all the oil is blended in to the mixture, taste, and adjust the seasoning with a little more lemon juice and salt if necessary.

4 Cover and refrigerate until needed.

Makes: 3 cups