Салат Оливье / Russian Salad
Note: Russian salads are like 80% mayonnaise.
Salat Olivier (Салат Оливье), frequently referred to as ‘Russian Salad’ outside of Russia, is one of my favourite foods in the entire world. My mum makes it, alongside several other salads, for every special occasion and it becomes an instant favourite with everyone who visits.
There are many variations of Olivier salad, but this recipe (my mum’s) is objectively the best. The main difference here is that everything is chopped quite finely, which really helps the different flavours work together. The seafood sticks can be replaced with anything you like, though traditionally ham, crab or chicken is used. I recently made a vegan version of this with vegan mayo and sausage, and all I can say is DO NOT use the "Plant Pioneer" brand sausages, they are trash. Cardboard trash. 😩
🌶️ Hot tips:
- Make your own mayo if you have a few minutes to spare (it's easy!)
- You can use fresh carrots and peas if you like, just cook them first
- Use pickles in brine, not in vinegar (Polish shops are your best bet)
Ingredients
Recipe!
Ok so there isn’t actually much point in listing steps for this recipe as all you really do is chop all the choppable ingredients to approximately the size of the petit pois (with the exception of the onion, which you should chop up even finer, and the carrots, which will end up being irregular and very slightly bigger than a pea unless you have the patience of a saint and cut them width-ways first).
Add the mayonnaise last, a few spoons at a time, until everything is smothered and delicious (you don't have to use the whole 500ml). I clearly overdid it a bit in the salad in the header photo.
🦞 Surprise Belgian connection! 🇧🇪
"The original version of the salad was invented in the 1860s by a cook of Belgian origin" and what is known as Salat Olivier today is in fact a forgery of the original 😱 You can read the history on Wiki but basically it's now my life's work to recreate the lost recipe. Watch this space!
Kate Bystrova