The history of the salad, popular not only for the New Year, but also for other Russian holidays - Olivier - goes back to the 19th century. On Russian soil, this meat appetizer was first prepared by French chef . A dish foreign to the Russian taste immediately became a favorite delicacy of the intelligentsia. Today this salad has undergone a number of changes and does not cause such delight because of its popularity and availability. Now, in order to somehow surprise the guests, you have to impress them with the serving of the dish. It remains to figure out how to decorate the olivier for the spectacular appearance of the "king of salads"?
Origin
It's no secret that the first cook who came up with an original combination of ingredients in meat salad was a Frenchman. It contained a tavern with the cultural name Hermitage. The name of the tavern was not related to the St. Petersburg Museum; it was translated from French as "secluded place." Visitors to the upscale establishment were nobles.
Question: “How to decorate Olivier salad?” At the restaurant chefs then did not arise. The dish was served from unmixed ingredients: the products were laid out in layers or separately laid out on a plate.
Today, a salad that is familiar to everyone can be found in different interpretations, and all because after the death of the inn owner Lucien Olivier no one knew the real recipe for this delicacy. Of course, the predecessors of the French cook tried to reproduce it, and the closest recipe to the original was published in the cookbook of 1897.
In the Soviet restaurant "Moscow" in the thirties of the XX century, Ivan Mikhailovich Ivanov invented a salad of available ingredients, which became like an olivier. He was dubbed the "Capital".
"Royal" recipe
How to decorate olivier, photo, description, cutting technique - for a modern housewife this is accessible information, not like a recipe for a classic dish in Tsarist Russia. But nevertheless, there were also craftsmen who maximally repeated the taste of the salad.
The ingredients of the tsarist dishes were as follows:
- hazel grouse;
- veal tongue;
- salad;
- boiled crayfish;
- black caviar;
- pickles;
- fresh cucumbers;
- eggs, capers, soy kabul.
Dressed with sauce based on French vinegar, Provence oil and egg yolks.
The list, headed by ideologically intolerable hazel grouse, clearly did not resemble the products of the working-peasant class. Therefore, in Soviet times, chef Ivanov replaced the royal ingredients with available products. Then there was no thought: “How to decorate the Olivier?” His appearance at the New Year's table was a luxury.
Modern interpretation of the dish
For workers and peasants, the ingredients of the royal recipe for meat salad, and even more so black caviar, crayfish, and pickles, were alien. The New Year's dish combined potatoes, carrots, boiled sausages, pickled cucumbers, eggs, green peas and mayonnaise.
All family members ran around in search of scarce salad products, and after their purchase there were no ideas: “How to decorate olivier for the New Year?” Peas, mayonnaise were bought far before the holiday and were stored under the inviolable slogan: “It's for the New Year!”
In modern society, getting the listed ingredients of a meat snack was not difficult, and the appearance of salad on the festive table does not surprise anyone. Here are the advanced housewives and are looking for options for the performance of “How to Beautifully Decorate Olivier Salad” to give the dish sophistication.
Carrot: lay or not?
Many amateur chefs, preparing olivier, wonder about the need for the presence of such an ingredient as carrots. Indeed, the Soviet list of products is at least somehow an analogue of the royal ingredients of the delicacy. Except for potatoes and carrots. But if the presence of potatoes can be explained by an attempt to make the dish hearty, then the small presence of boiled carrots in it is not entirely clear.
There is a legend that resourceful chefs used orange root vegetables to replace the cancerous necks and crabs that were present in traditional Olivier. So, the presence of boiled carrots in your favorite salad has become not an obligatory ingredient, but desirable. However, if the question is how to decorate the salad, the presence of bright root vegetables in it should not be in doubt, since the dish becomes more noticeable with carrots.
The subtleties of cooking
No matter how beautifully served salad, but the impression of the dish may fade from the lack of taste or proper consistency. The popularity of the dish is great, so it is being unreasonably large in quantity, which is an unreasonable translation of products. The volume of salad is recommended to be calculated based on the number of invited guests, equal to the number of medium potatoes. That is, if it is planned to take 5 people, then for the olivier it is necessary to prepare 5 potatoes.
So that the future dish does not look like porridge, it is necessary to boil the carrots and potatoes previously peeled and cut into equal cubes. It is recommended to add vinegar (one teaspoon) to the water in which nightshade will be cooked. He will save the vegetable from crumbling, and the question: “How to decorate olivier, not porridge?” Will be relevant.
As meat for this delicacy it is better to choose beef. Moreover, it should be boiled after the water boils, then the juiciness of the meat will remain inside the piece.
It is important to chop products using one technique. Brunoise is suitable for olivier, that is, potatoes, meat, carrots, pickled cucumbers and eggs should be chopped in even cubes.
Refueling methods and storage
If before the holiday the hostess is tormented by thoughts on how to decorate the Olivier salad, then after the feast the question is: “How can I eat all the beautiful things in order not to disappear?” In order to avoid such a situation, it is recommended to formulate the serving not from the whole part of the prepared salad. If it so happened that after combining all the products, a basin of Olivier came out, then you should not sculpt Christmas trees, sticks and thematic animals from the entire mass received.
An economical option for serving lettuce are canapes or boats. They can be quickly issued at any time, and such an appetizer will be individually one-time. That is, there is no common plate of seasoned dishes, which should be disposed of after the holiday.
It is recommended to add eggs and mayonnaise / olive oil to the salad immediately before decorating the olivier, and it is better to leave the rest of the salad in the refrigerator without the listed products, then its shelf life will last up to three days.
Restaurant serving
Home table setting is somewhat different from the restaurant. And this applies not only to cutlery, but also to decorate dishes. The presentation of salads by gourmet chefs is more sophisticated: they lack the design of appetizers in the form of some kind of animal, which is very popular in the home.
But the question remains the same: “How to decorate olivier?” Photos of the restaurant presentation of this salad impress with its genius and aristocracy. The most affordable home-made option is the option of serving snacks using a molding ring. Its absence is not a cause for grief. The ring can be obtained by cutting a plastic bottle on both sides. When it is ready, it remains only to put the improvised ring on a flat plate and fill it with seasoned salad, and before serving the “bottle” device must be removed. The circumference of the resulting stump can be decorated with halves of boiled eggs.
How to decorate Olivier for the New Year?
A convenient alternative to a common dish is the snack options for serving salads. Olivier is no exception. This is not only a way to extend the shelf life of an item, but also a tricky way to prevent overeating.
How to decorate Olivier for the New Year in the diner version?
- Serve in wine glasses. In glasses for wine, the salad, laid out in layers, looks very original. In addition, it takes up less space on the table than a plate.
- In the cucumbers. It is necessary to cut fresh cucumbers along and clean the pulp with a teaspoon. It remains to fill the vacant space with salad.
- In the baskets. You can bake molds for olivier yourself, but purchased baskets will be an excellent replacement.
- In pita bread or lettuce.
Children's table: how to decorate Olivier beautifully?
How often do adults try to trick a child into eating something! One of such tricks is the design of dishes in the form of fairy-tale characters or animals.
Olivier for children can be served in the form of fly agaric in an egg. Also, the salad looks advantageous and appetizing in the form of a Christmas tree decorated with peas and corn. Children's delight is provided at the sight of a mouse from a traditional Olivier. The ears, tail and legs of the animal can be cut from cooked sausage. Any form of salad will already add originality to the dish and will cause appetite in the kids. At the discretion of parents: it is better to season children's olivier with sour cream rather than mayonnaise.