Salad. My mother’s pink recipe

How to prepare a Russian salad or salad . 

Many names for the same base of potatoes, vegetables and homemade mayonnaise.

This recipe for vegetables and potatoes that I present to you is the authentic salad of my mother Roa, the one that I prepared in my early days. When I was little my mother cooked us (and continues to cook) a good omelette , some croquettes   and this salad.

It is not the traditional salad that we call a book, it goes to the taste of our house and of course, with products from my grandmother’s garden. Depending on the season with beans, pepper or onion. Sometimes even with a light Andalusian touch like shrimp salad .

Origin and a little history of the salad

• Why do we call it Russian salad ? Its history is curious, its origin is unknown, since there were already cooked vegetable salads (carrots, turnips, asparagus, beans, peas, potatoes and beets) mixed with mayonnaise made by the great Antonin Carême. This great French chef called it a Parisian salad , you see, this recipe is more like the current one than the one attributed to Lucien Olivier.
• Although we do know that the Russian salad is associated with the mythical Hermitage restaurant in Moscow that was officiated by a French chef named Lucien Olivier in the second half of the 19th century.
• This cook made it fashionable, although he is not its creator. Based on some previous and traditional Slavic elaborations, he developed a recipe that was served cold with a delicious sauce that was taken to the grave, a kind of vinaigrette. It can be said that he reinvented the salad recipe, so much so that he has stuck with the term “Russian” thanks to him.
• In its version it included among its ingredients: poultry, venison and various seafood. Sturgeon meat, bear meat and caviar were common ingredients.
• This recipe was lost but one similar and more similar to ours crossed borders reaching Ukraine. A mostly Christmas dish with cooked potato, carrots, boiled eggs, peas, pickles, minced sausages, or cooked chicken meat instead of our tuna and freshly made mayonnaise.

Preparation of the salad ingredients

1. We put to heat water in a large saucepan and when it is boiling add the prawns and a bay leaf.
2. Cook for about 10 minutes, remove the prawns and the bay leaf. We reserve the water for cooking the potatoes.
3. Peel the potatoes and carrots and put into the boiling water of the prawns. Salt and let cook for about 20-25 minutes over high heat.
4. The best way to see if it is well cooked is to prick with a fork at the end of the cooking process, so we can increase or decrease the time depending on the type of potato you are going to use.
5. I recommend Galician potato that is perfect for cooking. We remove the potatoes and carrots and let them cool.
6. While in another fire we are going to cook the eggs because I do not like to cook them with the vegetables (it is a hobby, what am I going to do).
7. If you do not care you can add them to the cooking of the potatoes. We cover them with cold water and cook 10 minutes from the boil.
8. We should not cook them any longer since a dark greenish halo forms around the yolk that is unpleasant to the eye. With these indications you must have a perfect hard-boiled egg .

Final preparation of the Russian salad

1. Thaw 10 bars of surimi and cut into very chopped pieces, add to the bowl.
2. Peel the prawns, removing the black thread and cut into pieces of approximately 1 cm.
3. We add to the largest bowl that we have at home. Mine has a capacity of about 3 liters.
4. We cut the potatoes and carrot into pieces of approximately 1cm. We add to the previous bowl.
5. I like the salad with tuna from the north or with tuna belly, but if you don’t want to pay the € 5 you have tuna in olive oil much cheaper.
6. The pot I have used is 260 g drained, in the end I have added everything because I love it. It is always better to crush it by hand so that you do not find very large pieces. Add it to the bowl.
7. Olives that will go whole, peas and beans are missing.
8. I use peas from a can, they come cooked and are super fine. We cut the beans super minced that are almost not noticeable. Everything in the bowl with the previous ingredients.
9. We remove the shell of the eggs and separate the white from the yolk. Chop the whites and add to the bowl. We reserve the yolks for the vinaigrette.
10. We wash the chives and chop very finely. Add to the bowl. We put it in the fridge while we prepare the mayonnaise and the vinaigrette.

Preparation of the vinaigrette and mayonnaise for the salad

The vinaigrette is one of the most international and most versatile sauces in the world. This basic and tasty sauce has been used for many years to dress and flavor salads.

The proportions will depend on the taste of each one, the type of oil, vinegar and ingredients used can change the intensity of the flavor.

• In a glass add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper. We introduce the extra virgin olive oil and the sherry vinegar. Stir vigorously until tied. Add the previously crumbled egg yolks. Stir gently until well mixed. We reserve.

For the Mayonnaise  you can follow the step by step of the recipe that we have published on the blog. And if you want to prepare a vinaigrette in a few seconds and to your liking, you just have to follow these steps.

Presentation of the Russian salad

1. In the bowl that we have taken out of the fridge add the egg yolk vinaigrette.
2. We combine very well with 2 wooden spoons. Always in an enveloping way so that everything comes together well and we take it back to the fridge.
3. It must be cold and it always tastes better overnight. Everything comes together well and it is luxurious.

The base of my “Sunday” salad , since I have prepared it on Sunday, is the same as that of my mother Rosa.

However, I have added some other element that improves it a little, to see if you like it and you will tell me how you prepare yours. Do not miss the step by step of the recipe for this homemade Russian salad .