Russian salad, a holiday classic with a thousand different recipes, customized according to taste and family traditions. Here is the basic recipe for Russian salad, the classic recipe from which you can start and experiment to create your own unique family recipe.
If you are looking for other classic appetizers, don’t forget to read the recipe
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Rest time: 5 Minutes
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 6
- Cooking methods: Stove
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 108.33 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 20.36 (g) of which sugars 2.54 (g)
- Proteins 3.86 (g)
- Fat 1.49 (g) of which saturated 0.03 (g)of which unsaturated 0.08 (g)
- Fibers 3.52 (g)
- Sodium 180.10 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 100 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for 6 people:
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 0.55 lbs potatoes
- 0.22 lbs carrots
- 0.22 lbs peas
- 2 tbsps pickled gherkins
- to taste salt
Tools
- 1 Cutting Board
- 1 Knife
- 1 Blender / Mixer
- 3 Pots 1 qt
Preparation
Here is the recipe with the steps to make the basic Russian salad recipe, from here you can personalize it with ingredients to your liking (boiled eggs, ham, cucumbers, etc.).
For a good Russian salad, I recommend making homemade mayonnaise by reading, in a few minutes with an immersion blender you will have a delicious product.
Alternatively, you can use jarred mayonnaise.
Start with the vegetables that must first be cleaned and then cut into cubes with a maximum thickness of 1/4 – 3/8 inches, to be clear, they must be the same size so they cook evenly.
To cook the vegetables, use cold salted water. The cooking of the vegetables should be done separately, first cook the potatoes for about 7-10 minutes, the time varies depending on the type of potato used and the size of the cube, the smaller it is, the less time it requires.
Taste the potatoes, they should be cooked, but not too much or they may fall apart when you mix the ingredients, making everything too creamy.
Blanch the carrots and peas for about 5-7 minutes, the carrots in a regular pan, the peas in a pan with a lid. Once the vegetables are cooked, it’s important to run them under cold water to stop the cooking.
Place the vegetables on absorbent paper so that it can absorb excess moisture or drain them using a fine-mesh colander.
Slice the pickled gherkins and add them to the vegetables, which by now should be dry.
Add the mayonnaise and gently mix so that the ingredients can blend without damaging the vegetables, which should be clearly identifiable.
Your classic Russian salad is ready!
Plating Tips:
present the dish simply and elegantly, place it on a green lettuce leaf to give freshness to the dish without making the presentation baroque… avoid other decorations, I know you want to, but avoid them, simple is more elegant!
Wine Pairing for Russian Salad:
I recommend pairing the wine based on the main course or the appetizers you will serve with this recipe. Generally, given the rich component provided by the mayonnaise, I recommend a dry white wine for aperitif like a gewürztraminer.
