Neapolitan Rosé Russian Salad with Beetroot
Russian salad is a dish made of chopped, boiled vegetables dressed with mayonnaise and traditionally served as an appetizer (or side dish) during the Christmas holidays. In my case, the pink color makes it an ideal appetizer even for Valentine’s Day.
Anyway, it’s an easy dish that’s good for any season, even in summer.
Russian salad is a easy Christmas appetizer also typical of the Neapolitan culinary tradition that (along with the reinforcement salad) is always present at Christmas (or New Year’s).
Every family has its own original recipe with essentials like potatoes, carrots, and mayonnaise, but for example, zucchinis or peas are not always present; personally, I prefer green beans. BUT the secret to my unusual rosé Russian salad is the beetroot! It makes it different from the usual Russian salads.
This family recipe was passed down to me by my mother, and – as I explained earlier – the distinctive feature of my Neapolitan Rosé Russian Salad is the presence of precooked red beetroot, which gives it a pleasant Christmas pink color and makes it truly tasty, because the sweetness of the beetroot creates a delightful contrast with the acidity of the pickles and mayonnaise, and indeed, it’s always a success when I prepare it, and I am often asked to bring it to convivial dinners with friends.
Russian Salad can serve as: an appetizer, an easy and delicious starter, or a side dish.
My tips for a perfect Russian salad: the vegetables should all be about the same size if possible, and they should be cut into small pieces.
Put the Russian salad in the refrigerator for at least two hours before serving.
You can also prepare the Russian salad the day before, with the only precaution of storing it in the refrigerator and adding the diced beetroot and mayonnaise only on the day you intend to consume it.
The Russian salad is among my “TOP Recipes“, all successful recipes: tested and fail-proof.
If you love Neapolitan cuisine, click on my Special: “Authentic Neapolitan Cuisine“.
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very economical
- Rest time: 2 Hours
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 6 people
- Cooking methods: Stove
- Cuisine: Regional Italian
- Region: Campania
- Seasonality: Christmas, New Year's
Ingredients for Neapolitan Rosé Russian Salad
- 10.5 oz potatoes
- 8.8 oz beetroot (precooked)
- 5.3 oz green beans (I use frozen)
- 3.5 oz carrots
- 4 eggs (hard-boiled)
- 5.3 oz pickled vegetables (well drained)
- 1.8 oz pickles (I use Saclà or Ponti)
- 3.5 oz green olives
- 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 16.4 oz mayonnaise (I use Calvé (or Kraft))
- to taste fine salt
- to taste black pepper (optional)
- to taste shrimp (peeled or small shrimp for decoration OPTIONAL)
- to taste parsley (for decoration, optional)
Tools for Neapolitan Rosé Russian Salad
- Bowls
- Vegetable Slicer multifunction
- Cutting Board with two side trays for scraps
- Pots
- Tray oval
Steps for Neapolitan Rosé Russian Salad
Wash the potatoes and place them in a pot with plenty of cold water and a pinch of coarse salt, and cook them for about 30 minutes from the boil.
Peel the carrots and boil them in salted cold water for about 10 minutes from the boil.
Cook the eggs in cold water for about 10 minutes from the boil.
Cook the frozen green beans in salted boiling water for about 10 minutes.
Cool all the vegetables and hard-boiled eggs well.
Pit the green olives and cut them into pieces.
With a vegetable slicer and a cutting board, cut all the vegetables into small pieces, preferably the same size. Cut the green beans (150 g weighed frozen) and pickles into chunks, and the potatoes, beetroot (I use vacuum-packed precooked), pickled vegetables, and carrots into small dice (about 1 cm).
When the vegetables have cooled, also cut the hard-boiled eggs into small pieces (saving a few slices for decoration on the surface).
Season the cold vegetables mixed with pickles, olives, and hard-boiled eggs with salt and 5 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil, then also add the mayonnaise and pepper (optional) and mix everything well.
Take an oval plate and arrange the Rosé Russian Salad on it and decorate it as you like. I garnished with green beans, slices of hard-boiled eggs, and parsley, but for example: in the center or on the sides, you can add boiled shrimp (or small shrimp) seasoned with oil and lemon.
Once you have seasoned and arranged the Russian salad on the serving plate, place it in the refrigerator for at least two hours, then after two hours, take it out and consume it after 15 minutes (it should be fresh but not icy).
Shopping Tips!!!
To cut the vegetables all the same size, I use this super handy multifunction vegetable slicer , a true kitchen ally with 9 practical accessories that greatly simplify the preparation of fruits and vegetables.
For this recipe, I also used this practical bamboo cutting board, with two handy side trays included (one for collecting cut food and one for scraps).
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
How to store Russian salad? Can it be frozen?
Russian salad is stored in the refrigerator, preferably in an airtight container (or covered with plastic wrap) for up to 3 days.
Russian salad should NOT be frozen, it is highly discouraged as it would become watery.What are the origins of Russian salad?
The origins of Russian salad are rather uncertain, there are various hypotheses:
The first hypothesis traces the birth of Russian salad to the Savoy Kingdom in the 19th century. It is said that the court chef, on the occasion of the Tsar’s visit to Italy at the end of the century, wanted to recreate a dish based on vegetables common in Russia, like potatoes and carrots.
The recipe included a mixture of vegetables cut into cubes, united by a creamy sauce intended to recall the snow. In honor of this guest, the dish was named “Russian salad.”
The second, more accredited theory attributes the creation of the dish to the second half of the 19th century, by Lucien Olivier, a chef of French origin, in the kitchens of the Hermitage restaurant in Moscow. Also known as Olivier salad, it soon became a symbol dish of the restaurant.
The recipe included partridges, boiled potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, pickled cucumbers, black truffles, river shrimp, jelly cubes, and pickles. The great success of the Olivier Salad made it so famous that it was published in important cooking magazines which spread the dish worldwide.
