Russian Salad Recipe

If you’ve been following my food blog for a while you know that I am fascinated by finding out the story behind each food I make. While not all of them have a dramatic or reality altering (can you imagine?) history attached to it, nevertheless, Russian salad has an interesting story and some controversies behind it.

Russian Salad, also known as Olivier (also known as – салат Оливье), is a staple salad in almost every family from ex- Soviet Union. I read that it is actually very popular in other European counties, including some in middle east, too. It is rumored that Olivier salad was invented by a Russian chef of Belgian descent, Lucien Olivier around 1860s. Lucien worked for a very highly regarded, posh restaurant called Hermitage in Moscow. Just like many recipes from that time, Olivier recipe was a very big secret and no one could mimic it, until Lucien’s sous-chef Ivan Ivanov sneakily copied the ingredients from his boss. Ivanov ended up quitting Hermitage and left to work as a chef to a rival restaurant called Moscow (Moskva). He later introduced his version of Olivier Salad, which they renamed to Slotichniy Salat (Capital Salad). While it was a close match to the original Olivier, apparently people still felt the difference in the sauce and called Stolichniy Salat a second best to its predecessor.

When I read the original ingredients for this salad, my jaw slightly dropped in amazement. What I call Olivier Salad today has about 3 ingredients in common with the original one. It has been altered so much and understandably so. During the Soviet Era not many people could afford buying crayfish, caviar and many other fancy ingredients, which went into the preparation of the original salad. What we make today is by all means a dumbed-down version of the first. But nevertheless a very delicious one.

The exact recipe — particularly that of the dressing — was a jealously guarded secret, but it is known that the salad contained grouse, veal tongue, caviar, lettuce, crayfish tails, capers, and smoked duck, although it is possible that the recipe was varied seasonally. The original Olivier dressing was a type of mayonnaise, made with French wine vinegar, mustard, and Provençal olive oil; its exact recipe, however, remains unknown.

– Wikepedia

You can read more about it in your spare time. I on the other hand will try to make the original Olivier sometime soon too see if I would like the peculiar taste of it.

Let’s see what Russian Salad is like today. It is a fairly simple recipe. All you’ve got to do is boil, dice everything and mix all the ingredients together. There are some optional items which you may want to include, if you like them along with Mayo. There is no harm in that.

Ingredients:

• 3 medium potatoes
• 1 large carrot
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 lb lean boiled beef or bologna or salami (not pictured in the recipe)
• 3-4 small picked cucumbers
•  4 oz of canned green peas
• 2 Tbsp of Mayonnaise
• Dill for garnish (optional)
• Mustard Seeds (optional)
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 1/2 small cucumber (optional)

Directions:

Put all the ingredients to boil and turn the heat off when everything is cooked. Discard the shell from eggs. I also like to peel the carrots before they go into cooking. Potatoes, on the other hand, I wash thoroughly and leave the skin intact for cooking. I peel the skin off after the potatoes are cooked. Leaving the skin on keeps the potatoes in one piece, even when slightly overcooked and potatoes actually taste much better when cooked with skin. Don’t mind the darker color at all. On the side of caution, please do not overcook the potatoes, as they turn the entire salad into a big giant mush at the end.

I love this salad with beef rather than with just bologna. But if you are short on time, anything works, really. Salt the water of the beef according to your taste. Doing so brings out the flavor in meat and also adds a great taste to the salad. My sister swears by soaking the meat in cold, somewhat salty water after it is cooked. You can try that out, too.

Dice all the ingredients. I dice the carrots a little smaller than I would potatoes. Put all the ingredients in a large bowl.

Dice eggs as big as you would potatoes. You need to feel the taste of eggs in this salad.  Also dice the boiled meat here.

Dice the dill pickles and along with mayo add to the bowl with other ingredients. Here you can add the dill, a little bit of mustard seeds and all the other optional ingredients. My mother-in-law also adds apples, which I do not like very much. But for some it is a refreshing taste. Add salt and pepper as you wish and slowly mix the salad.

Chill the salad before serving and let all the taste in ingredients blend. If you are making a double batch of this salad, I recommend not to mix everything with mayo. If I know I will not serve half of it, I keep one half unmixed in the refrigerator to prevent from spoiling early.

Viola! Enjoy your salad :D

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5 from 1 vote

Russian Salad Recipe

Russian Salad, also known as Olivier (also known as – салат Оливье), is a staple salad in almost every family from ex- Soviet Union. It is a fairly simple recipe. All you’ve got to do is boil, dice everything and mix all the ingredients together. There are some optional items which you may want to include, if you like them along with Mayo.

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Total Time50 minutes mins

Course: Salad

Cuisine: Russian

Servings: 6

Author: Arbuz.com

Ingredients

• 3 medium potatoes
• 1 large carrot
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 lb lean boiled beef or bologna or salami not pictured in the recipe
• 3-4 small picked cucumbers
• 4 oz of canned green peas
• 2 Tbsp of Mayonnaise
• Dill for garnish optional
• Mustard Seeds optional
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 1/2 small cucumber optional

Instructions

• Put all the ingredients to boil and turn the heat off when everything is cooked. Discard the shell from eggs. I also like to peel the carrots before they go into cooking. Potatoes, on the other hand, I wash thoroughly and leave the skin intact for cooking. I peel the skin off after the potatoes are cooked. Leaving the skin on keeps the potatoes in one piece, even when slightly overcooked and potatoes actually taste much better when cooked with skin. Don’t mind the darker color at all. On the side of caution, please do not overcook the potatoes, as they turn the entire salad into a big giant mush at the end.
• Dice all the ingredients. I dice the carrots a little smaller than I would potatoes. Put all the ingredients in a large bowl.
• Dice eggs as big as you would potatoes. You need to feel the taste of eggs in this salad. Also dice the boiled meat here. I forgot to photograph the meat. I love this salad with beef rather than with just bologna. But if you are short on time, anything works, really. Salt the water of the beef according to your taste. Doing so brings out the flavor in meat and also adds a great taste to the salad. My sister swears by soaking the meat in cold, somewhat salty water after it is cooked. You can try that out, too.
• little bit of mustard seeds and all the other optional ingredients. My mother-in-law also adds apples, which I do not like very much. But for some it is a refreshing taste. Add salt and pepper as you wish and slowly mix the salad.
• Chill the salad before serving and let all the taste in ingredients blend. If you are making a double batch of this salad, I recommend not to mix everything with mayo. If I know I will not serve half of it, I keep one half unmixed in the refrigerator to prevent from spoiling early.