Among the many delicious holiday dishes, the Squirrel salad stands apart. Most similar snacks in the preparation are troublesome, require a variety of ingredients - often quite rare or expensive. The same dish is done quickly, and in terms of composition it can be called primitive. Moreover, his taste is delicate, velvety, and the look is elegant.
Note that there are several ways to prepare Squirrel salad. And there are versions that are radically different from the most famous, but at the same time bear the same name. In order not to offend any of the cooks, we tried to collect the basic versions of all the variations.
Classic performance
Most often, housewives prepare Squirrel salad from processed cheese. It is done very quickly; creation has no subtleties. You can only advise cheese to take semi-soft, so that it is easier to rub. However, if you categorically prefer a soft product, you can first slightly freeze it in the freezer.
So, rub two processed cheese and four hard-boiled eggs. Three or four cloves of garlic are pressed into a bowl with a base (its amount is regulated according to family tastes). If necessary, the Squirrel salad can be salted, but first you need to try: the cheeses are well salted. Refill the dish with low-fat mayonnaise, and then immediately put it on the table.
Possible modifications
Often the hostesses are not limited to such a composition. Nevertheless, the taste and smell of garlic are sharp; to soften them, a small tomato is finely chopped into the mass (if desired, the skin can be removed) and half of the bell pepper. At the same time, vegetables will give the dish brightness and catchiness.
Squirrel salad: recipe with different cheeses
The main ingredients specified in the previous, basic recipe are supplemented with new ones - and you get a completely original taste. However, the process does not end there: a 200-gram block of hard cheese is rubbed into the container (“Russian” is quite appropriate) and the same piece of frozen oil. Next, squeezed garlic (approximately six slices) and a spoonful of chopped nuts are introduced into the Squirrel salad. The easiest way to add walnuts, but it will be tastier with forest or cedar. After mixing, the dish is usually seasoned with mayonnaise.
Carrot option
In this recipe, Squirrel salad matches its name because it has a ginger coat. Two medium-sized and brightly colored carrots are peeled and rubbed coarsely. A pair of processed cheeses are crushed in a similar way. Two to three garlic cloves are held through a press. All components are mixed and flavored with mayonnaise. For this version of the salad, it is better to take more fat mayonnaise so that it nourishes the root crops, and before serving the dish should be kept in the refrigerator for half an hour.
Feed options
What makes Squirrel salad good is that it can be eaten in different ways, and served is beautiful and convenient. Of course, no one has canceled the table setting in a salad bowl, but it's boring. There are three alternatives.
- Dry slices of bread in a toaster or make croutons out of them, spread a salad and serve as an appetizer on a nice dish.
- Mix equal dill, sesame seeds and chopped nuts in equal proportions (walnuts can be, peanuts can be). Roll balls from the mass and roll them in sprinkles. For the convenience of eating, you can stick a skewer into each.
- Take a thin pita bread, spread it on the table, generously coat with any of the Squirrel options and roll it up. After holding it for ten minutes in the refrigerator, cut into portioned round slices and put it in a fan or columns on a dish.
A completely different "Squirrel"
It is difficult to say why the dish got its name. Maybe because it includes nuts? Nevertheless, in front of you is another Squirrel salad. The recipe includes a third kilo of chicken breast. In most cases, it is prescribed to boil it with spices and herbs. However, some chefs prefer to take smoked or oven-baked chicken. It must not be cut, but manually disassembled into fibers. A brine is drained from a 400-gram can of pickled champignons; if the mushrooms are small, they can be sent whole to the salad; if they are large, crumble. The middle onion is finely chopped and gilded in vegetable oil. The nuts are crushed, but into dust, so that their taste is clearly felt in the dish. All prepared components are combined; Mayonnaise is again used as a dressing.
Multilayer "Squirrel"
Many mothers prepare this salad for children's parties. It is performed in the form of a corresponding animal, it turns out colorful, juicy, and is eaten by offspring in the first place. Cooking goes in this order.
- Three large potatoes are peeled, boiled and rubbed onto a dish in the form of a squirrel. You can not use a grater, but chop finely. A mesh of mayonnaise is applied on top.
- Half of the chicken fillet (200 grams) is cooked and chopped finely on top of the potatoes. Mayonnaise smear again.
- Champignons of the same weight are stewed with chopped onion until cooked and distributed over the meat. They should be sprinkled with the yolks of four eggs and only after that put mayonnaise.
- Next, a large apple without skin is rubbed or cut, sprinkled abundantly with nuts and smeared.
The last layer will be a boiled carrot, which depicts the fur coat of the animal. Grated protein refers to the tummy and cheeks, eyes, paws, nose laid out with olives. Before giving the Squirrel salad with walnuts to the children to be torn to pieces, it takes about an hour to cool it.