On a respectable Christmas table, Russian salad cannot be missing, which you have surely made at least once in your life. Mine is classic with the addition of tuna, and the peculiarity is that I made a kind of wreath decorated with lamb’s lettuce and pomegranate seeds that immediately evokes Christmas. But if instead you have never made Russian salad, here is how you prepare it in the following recipe.
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 12
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter, All seasons
Ingredients
- 2 lbs potatoes
- 9 oz carrots
- 9 oz peas
- 4 pickled cucumbers
- 2 eggs (hard-boiled)
- 7 oz canned tuna
- 1 cup mayonnaise (optional)
- to taste salt
- 1 lemon juice
- 1 oz lamb's lettuce (optional)
- to taste pomegranate
Steps
Preparing Russian salad is not difficult, but for a perfect outcome, I recommend following some tips.
The first is to cut the potatoes and carrots into small cubes of about 1/2 inch to ensure perfect cooking.
I also recommend letting the Russian salad thicken for at least a couple of hours before serving, better if overnight.
But now let’s get to the details.
Start by peeling the potatoes, washing them, and cutting them into cubes of about 1/2 inch, do the same with the carrots and pickled cucumbers. Boil the eggs and pour the tuna into a colander to drain the excess water.
Put them in salted cold water, and after it boils, let them cook for another 7-8 minutes. At this point, with a slotted spoon, take the potato cubes and spread them on a large plate so they cool well.
In the same cooking water, now pour the carrot cubes and let them cook for about 10 minutes. Once cooked, always with a slotted spoon, pour them into a colander and run them under cold running water for a few moments to stop the cooking.
The last cooking step is for the peas; pour them into the same water, cook them for about 10 minutes, a few more minutes if they are frozen, and once ready, drain them and run them under cold water to stop the cooking.
When all the vegetables and eggs are cooked, peel the latter and crumble them. Now pour into a large bowl potatoes, carrots, peas, pickles, crumbled eggs, and the tuna you have thoroughly squeezed, also add half of the mayonnaise, lemon juice, and salt, and mix well. Add the remaining mayonnaise and place in the fridge for about 5 minutes.
At this point, line a 8-inch springform pan with plastic wrap. Take a smooth glass of about 2 1/2 inches in diameter, wrap it in plastic wrap, and place it in the center of the springform on a serving plate. Now pour your Russian salad into the mold around the glass evenly, pressing the surface.
Place your Russian salad in the fridge for at least a couple of hours, then gently remove the glass from the center of your wreath, also gently remove the springform, decorate with lamb’s lettuce, previously washed and dried, and decorate with pomegranate seeds, and enjoy your meal.
Saby recommends…
The classic Russian salad does not include tuna, which you can omit or replace with boiled and shredded chicken.
If you do not want to use lamb’s lettuce for decoration, you can use chopped parsley.
