If you need to cook a tasty and satisfying cold appetizer for a regular dinner or at a banquet table, many people think of the Moscow salad. There is a recipe for it in the arsenal of most experienced housewives. It is prepared in cafes and restaurants, but only the composition and method of serving can be quite different.
But there are things that unite absolutely all the options without exception: the recipe for Moscow Salad always allows you to create a tasty and satisfying (albeit quite high-calorie) dish that can not only satisfy the hunger of guests, but also decorate the table.
Ingredients
As a rule, it is prepared from meat, eggs and boiled vegetables. Depending on the culinary preferences, the recipe for the Moscow salad can be with chicken or beef, pork or ham. As additional components, carrots, potatoes, eggs, greens, apples, green peas are used.
It turns out that a lot of the most varied dishes carry the same name "Moscow" salad. Olivier, as it is traditionally prepared for the New Year, is also on this list. In America it is called "Russian" salad, and in Europe - "Moscow". If we consider the latter from the classical point of view, the only difference is that instead of the usual sausage, boiled meat is added there.
Classic Moscow Salad
As mentioned earlier, this dish is not very different from the usual Olivier. For 200 grams of lean pork, take 3 medium potatoes, 2 small fresh cucumbers, carrots, a large unsweetened apple and 2 chicken eggs. Still need a small bunch of green onions, dill, parsley, half a glass of sour cream, a little salt and sugar (to taste). For decoration, use
green lettuce leaves
.Before you prepare the “Moscow” salad, you need to boil the ingredients (separately eggs, meat and vegetables). Then they are cooled to room temperature and ground. Carrots, potatoes, eggs and pork are diced. The peeled apple is rubbed on a coarse grater. Cucumber is chopped into strips, and washed greens are finely chopped.
Next, mix all the ingredients, salt, add sugar and season with sour cream. Served on a common dish, laying on lettuce leaves.
The original recipe with fried meat
Despite the fact that this dish differs significantly from the previous one both in composition and on the principle of preparation, it is also called the “Moscow” salad. The recipe is a bit more complicated, more ingredients. But the result is more interesting and more useful (due to the lack of mayonnaise in the composition).
For 250 grams of pork take half a glass of chopped walnuts, a couple of apples, 2 boiled eggs, large beets, a little dill and celery root. Dressing is made from vegetable oil (4 tablespoons),
apple cider vinegar (2 tablespoons), mustard, salt and sugar (to taste).
Beets must first be baked in the oven, wrapped in foil, and then cooled, peeled and cut into strips. Pork is ground into thin strips and fried, slightly salted. The apple and celery root are peeled and rubbed (or cut). Next, all the ingredients should be mixed, put on a large dish, season with dressing, sprinkle with chopped dill and nuts. You can arrange the salad portionwise in small plates, decorating it with greens.
With chicken breast
Another “Moscow” salad, the recipe with a photo of which is presented later, is also called “Stolichniy”. For cooking, you need such products: a small chicken breast (boiled with salt and bay leaf), 4 boiled eggs and small potatoes, large carrots, 2 pickles, a can of green peas, a bunch of onions, dill. For dressing use mayonnaise, and for decoration - lettuce.
All ingredients (except cucumbers and herbs) must be pre-cooked and chilled. After that, the vegetables and eggs are cleaned, they are cut in the same cubes and mixed. The dish is seasoned with mayonnaise immediately before serving, spread in a deep salad bowl and decorated with chopped greens.
Salad Olivier
Since all over the world it is precisely he who is identified with the concept of "Russian" or "Moscow" salad, this recipe should also be mentioned. Moreover, many housewives alternate sausages and meat, depending on the availability of certain ingredients. As a rule, all components are taken in equal amounts (by weight). These are pickled cucumbers, boiled sausage, potatoes, carrots and chicken eggs. You will also need peas, greens for decoration and mayonnaise. Sometimes a fresh cucumber is added to the "Olivier" for aroma, and an apple for piquancy.
Pre-boiled eggs, carrots and potatoes are peeled and cut into cubes. Sausage and cucumbers, too. Then everything is mixed, chopped herbs, peas are added and seasoned with mayonnaise.
A bit of history
In general, the fate of Olivier is very curious. Its original composition contained grouse meat, black caviar and other delicacies. This dish was served in a French restaurant in Moscow. Its owner was Lucien Olivier (a dish was named after him). With the advent of Soviet power, these products were replaced by more affordable “analogues”, which also “evolved” over time. As a result, a modern version appeared. By the way, the dish got its second name thanks to the chef of the Moscow restaurant Ivan Ivanov, who remembered the salad, changing the ingredients to more affordable ones. Subsequently, they began to cook it everywhere, calling both “Russian” and “Capital”, changing the composition in their own way.
Nutritional and energy value
Regardless of the cooking method chosen, the dish turns out to be very high-calorie. Therefore, neither during fasting, nor being on a diet, do not use it. The classic Moscow salad, the recipe of which is written above, will be especially nutritious. After all, it contains sour cream, and fatty meat (pork), and chicken eggs. 100 grams of such a dish contains about 250 kcal. If you replace pork with chicken, and use low-fat mayonnaise as a dressing, the salad will still not be dietary, although progress will still be noticeable. In 100 grams of such a meal, about 200 kcal. Neither celery with apple, nor oil dressing will help (even the original version with fried pork will exceed 200 kcal per 100 grams), although there will certainly be benefits from eating them. But in the usual "Olivier" with boiled sausage there are only 167 of them (though without mayonnaise).
Options for submission and registration
Cooking any festive meal is only half the battle. Design and presentation play no less role than the composition of the dish and the quality of the products. After all, the guests first look at the table, and then they start tasting. The Moscow salad is no exception. The recipe here does not play a big role, you can beautifully design any of the options.
Those who are not strong and inexperienced in this matter are not recommended to immediately try to create a masterpiece. The salad laid out on a large dish and decorated with greens looks very worthy. It can be simply chopped and sprinkled on top or laid out with a onion, dill, parsley, lettuce, a bouquet, an inscription or other composition.
If the dish contains nuts, they can also be used for sprinkling. Well, if you have the time, patience and experience, it’s time to create vegetable masterpieces. From boiled carrots, fresh cucumbers, herbs, onions, beets, roses and daisies, whole bouquets and lawns are cut. And for a children's holiday usually create funny animals. So the “Moscow” salad is also a forest lawn, and a kind of zoo.