Russian Salads

There are several salads which constitute a “must” for any Russian table.  This article will begin with four of the best loved salads for almost any family, the Salad Olivie, Carrot Salad, Crab with Corn salad, and Beet Vinegret.

One of the first things you’ll notice about a Russian salad is the absence of lettuce.  Due to the length of the growing season lettuce doesn’t fare so well.  Some families are successful in growing it in a greenhouse setting perhaps at a country dacha, but most Russians dwell in massive high rise apartments and a garden space is most often found out in the country at a weekend dacha (cabin/country house).

The next thing you’ll notice about Russian salads is the prominence of “root crops,” those vegetables which grown undergound.  These plants have the advantage of the ground as a natural shelter from weather up top on the surface.  That means they can be started earlier or can finish later than ordinary plants.  Therefore you’ll see lots of things like potatoes, beets, carrots, radishes, onions, turnips, etc, in a Russian salad.

Finally, Russian salads are much more like their Greek counterparts than most realize.  Russians love to “mix it up” a bit by adding fruits like grapes, melon, raisins, pineapple, apple, etc, to a vegetable salad.  Often honey or molasses to a salad, creating a very nice surprise to the palate.  With all the attention and care given to making a Russian salad, and most are very simple and quick to put together, you will soon understand why salads are such an important part of every Russian meal.

Potato Salad “Olivie”
Salad Olivie was named for a French chef “Oliver” and it is an excellent way to start learning how to prepare Russian dishes because it’s simple yet tasty.  Any restaurant will tell you that this is the sing most popular salad for a Russian table.

You can make this authentic Russian potatoe salad called “Olivie” and it is delicious!  The particular reciple is compliments of a very excellent Russian cafe in Boston, Cafe “Stoli” (столы means “tables”).

If you love shrimp or chicken, you’re going to dig this dish!  And it’s so easy that if you can buy some pickles, a can of peas, boil 6 eggs, peel a few potatoes and cut up some carrots…..your friends will think you’ve become a master chef!

Ingredients:

6 large potatoes
2 average carrots
6 eggs
4 pickles
1/2 lb of your choice of cooked meat (beef or chicken) or mushrooms (vegetarian version) or shrimps (seafood version)
1/2 can of sweet green peas
salt and pepper
mayonaise or sour cream

Preparation:

Boil potatoes, carrots, and eggs.
Peel and cut all the vegetables in small cubes. Cut pickles. Chop your choice of meat, chicken, mushrooms or shrimps.
Mix everything together. Add peas.
Season with mayonaise or sour cream.
Add salt and pepper for your taste.

Carrot Salad

Combine the following:
3 grated carrots
1/4 cup of raisins or dried apricots or dates (cut in little pieces) or all of this
1/4 cup of walnuts
2 tbsp – honey
1 tbsp – sourcream

Wow, that was easy!

Crab with Corn Salad

This was the very first salad I experienced on my maiden trip to Russia.  It’s still a favourite with the Mendeleyev family and hardly a week goes by that it doesn’t grace our table.  You’ll enjoy the combination of flavours in this culinary creation.

Ingredients:
1 cup of dry Basmati or similar type of rice,
3-4 eggs ,
250 – 300 gr. of crabmeat or imitation crabmeat,
1 tin of sweet corn (250 gr.),
(optional) 2-3 table spoons of grated cheddar or old gauda cheese (50-70 gr.) ,
3-4 table spoons of mayonnaise.

Preparation:
1. Boil the rice, so it remains “friable”, not sticky. Do not overcook!
Don’t forget to add salt when water starts boiling.
2. Hard boil the eggs.
3. Let rice and eggs to cool down to the room temperature.
4. Cut crabmeat in small cubes, approx. 5x5x5 mm each.
5. Cut eggs into small cubes, approx. 5x5x5 mm.
6. Open corn tin, pour out the liquid.
7. Mix rice, corn, cheese, crabmeat and eggs.
8. Add mayonnaise at least 30 min before serving, stir.
9. Put in a big salad bowl, decorate with greens(dill, parsley) and black olives.

Vinegret
(Russian cold vegetable salad with potatoes and beets)

This is often named as Russia’s second most popular salad.
Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients:
Beets cooked, diced 2 cups
Potatoes cooked, diced 2 cups
Carrots cooked, diced 2 cups
Peas cooked 1 cup
Dill pickles diced 2-3 each
Onion diced 1/2 medium
Scallions chopped 3-4 each
Dill chopped 1/4 cup
Red wine vinegar  1/4 cup
Dijon mustard  1 tsp
Sugar  1 tsp
Oil, sunflower or other vegetable  1/2 cup
Salt & pepper  to taste

Preparation:

Basic Steps:  Mix → Whisk → Stir
Mix all of the vegetables, the pickles and the dill together in a large bowl.
In a smaller bowl, whisk together the vinegar, mustard and sugar. Whisk the oil into the vinegar, pouring it in slowly. Stir the vinaigrette into the vegetables. Season with salt and pepper and serve well chilled.

Салат «Офисный Клерк»/Salad “Office Clerk”

Salad “Office Clerk” uses beets, potatoes, onions and egg (optional)

Note: If served during the annual Nativity or the Easter fasts, the egg is optional. For Diabetics, the egg helps replace protein from the lack of meat during a fast but first speak to your priest about which practice is best for your situation.

Состав/Ingredients:
300 г картофеля (potatoes)
150 г моркови (carrots)
200 г свеклы (beets)
150 г лука (Onions)
3-5 маринованных огурцов (pickles)
200 г яблок (apples)
3 яйца (eggs)
соль (salt)
Натуральный майонез (Mayonnaise)

Отварить картофель, морковь, свеклу и яйца до готовности. Остудить, почистить. (Boil the potatoes, carrots, beets and eggs until done. Cool, then peel.)

Свеклу, яйца, морковь и картофель натереть на мелкой терке. Огурцы мелко нарезать. Лук мелко нашинковать, залить его кипятком на 10 минут, чтобы он не горчил, затем воду слить. Яблоко почистить, натереть на мелкой терке. (Grate the beets, eggs, carrots and potatoes. Finely chop the pickles. Chop onions, after boiling it for 10 minutes, then drain the water. Grate the apple last.)

На дно тарелки выложить картофель, немного посолить и смазать майонезом. На картофель выложить морковь, немного смазать майонезом. На морковь выложить лук. На лук выложить огурцы, немного смазать майонезом. На огурцы выложить яйца, смазать майонезом. На яйца выложить яблоки, смазать майонезом. (Put the potatoes at the bottom and then add some salt and mayonnaise. Next, layer carrots and a little mayonnaise. Layer carrots with onion. The next layer will be the pickles and mayonnaise. Afterward, layer eggs with some mayonnaise. Next to last, top with apples and mayonnaise.)

На яблоки выложить свеклу. Украсить салат по вкусу. Можно сделать сеточку из майонеза. Желательно дать салату пропитаться. (The final layer is of beets. Create a mesh using mayonnaise.)

Hot water is provided by an electric pass-thru heater mounted on the wall near the window.

Salad Neptune/Салат “Нептун”

Ingredients:
300 g shrimp
squid-300g
crab sticks, 200 g
5 eggs
130 gr. red caviar
mayonnaise

Preparation:
- Boil eggs, cool, separate the protein from the yolk, cut into a protein. The yolk can be left for decoration.

- Cook shrimp in lightly salted water.

- Then mix into boiling water, pre-cut into rings & calamari. Don’t overcook!

- Cut the crab sticks.

- Add a couple tablespoons of mayonnaise, stir, and then add red caviar.

- Salt, pepper to taste, but I advise salt on top after everything is mixed because eggs and mayonnaise can provide enough salt.

Salad "Nepture"

Ингредиенты:
креветки-300 гр
кальмары-300 гр
крабовые палочки-200 гр
5 яиц
130 гр. красной икры
майонез

Приготовление:
1. Отвариваем яйца, охлаждаем, отделяем белок от желтка, нарезаем белок. Желток можно оставить для украшения.
2. Варим креветки в слегка подсоленной воде.
3. Затем в кипящую воду бросаем, предварительно нарезав на кольца, кальмары. Самое главное-не переварить их, иначе получатся резиновыми!
4. Нарезаем крабовые палочки.
5. Теперь добавляем пару столовых ложек майонеза, перемешиваем, и только потом добавляем красную икру (чтобы не полопалась).
6. Соль-перец по вкусу, но советую солить после смешивания всего, т.к. икра и майонез могут дать достаточно соли.

 

More coming soon!