Russian cuisine is famous for a huge variety of dishes. And one of the most honorable places among them is salad. The Russian version of such a dish differs in many respects from most of its overseas twin cities, as a rule, consists of a large number of ingredients and has a rich, vibrant taste. There is another feature of our salads. In other countries, cooking such a dish takes no more than 10-15 minutes. In our country, the process can take several hours. Today we’ll talk about how Russian salads are prepared. Recipes with photos and descriptions can be found in our article.
Meet Vinaigrette
This treat is usually served at the table in the cold season. The vegetables that make up its composition have a huge amount of nutrients for our body. There are not enough vitamins in the winter, and such a salad is able to perfectly complement our diet.
You will need:
- 2 beetroots (medium);
- 2 carrots;
- 2-3 medium potatoes;
- 2-3 cucumbers (salted);
- 1 onion;
- ½ jars of peas (canned);
- green feather of onion;
- vegetable oil for dressing.
How to cook
Beets need to use sweet varieties. Vegetables should be thoroughly washed from the ground and sand, and then boil until cooked. They should be soft and easy to pierce. After we put the vegetables on a plate and allow to cool completely. Do they peel before cooking? At your discretion, but most often vegetables are cooked unpeeled - this preserves more nutrients. You do not need to add salt during the cooking process.
In the meantime, dice the pickles, finely chop the onions. Peel the vegetables, cut them into cubes and send them to a common bowl. Add the canned peas and pour the vegetable oil.
In each family, recipes for Russian salad “vinaigrette” may vary slightly. Sometimes they add a little sauerkraut or season with mayonnaise. This is a matter of taste for everyone.
The famous "Olivier"
Real wars sometimes go around this dish: some claim that the salad is Russian, others deny it. Indeed, in fact, it was invented by a Frenchman (Lucien Olivier) and turned out to be so successful that today it is one of the most popular in Russia. Not a single New Year passes without such a treat. And they call it sometimes in a different way: "Capital" or "Meat."
You will need:
- ½ cans of canned peas;
- 1 carrot;
- 2 potatoes;
- 2 eggs (hard boiled);
- 1 cucumber (pickled);
- 300 g of boiled meat (ham);
- mayonnaise and greens.
How to cook
Carefully rinse the carrots and potatoes, fill with water and boil until cooked. Let’s cool and cut into medium cubes. Finely chopped greens.
We also cut the cucumber, boiled eggs and meat. The recipes of Russian salads according to the Olivier type may differ slightly, some use ham in them, others use boiled pork or chicken. This is not so important. Now combine all the ingredients, add green peas and season with mayonnaise.
Salad "Russian Beauty"
Another traditional dish and decoration of any holiday often becomes "Russian Beauty" (salad). We offer you a photo and a description of it.
You will need:
- 3 eggs (hard boiled);
- 300 g of ham (or boiled chicken);
- 150 g of hard cheese;
- 1 red bell pepper;
- 2 boiled potatoes;
- 2 medium cucumbers (fresh);
- mayonnaise, greens optional;
- for decoration - olives, cherry tomatoes, salad leaves.
How to cook
All ingredients are cut into medium cubes, mixed and seasoned with mayonnaise. There are several options for serving such a dish, it depends on the hostess's preferences. Such a salad (Russian) can be laid out in layers or not mixed at all. In this case, each ingredient is placed on a plate in separate peas, and the guest himself mixes it.
Beloved by all "Fur coat"
This traditional salad is Russian; without it, not a single New Year's celebration is complete. It combines completely unusual tastes and ingredients, and it just turns out to be an overeating. It is difficult to find a person on our earth who would never try and love the salad “Herring under a fur coat” or just “Fur coat”.
You will need:
- herring fillet;
- 1 boiled beetroot;
- 1 large boiled carrot;
- 2-3 boiled potatoes;
- 1 medium onion;
- mayonnaise.
How to cook
Peel the vegetables and grate on a grater. Herring fillet must be carefully separated from each, even the smallest, bone, remove skin from it and cut into small cubes. Finely chop the onion and pour over boiling water - so we will get rid of bitterness. We begin to make out our salad.
Russian (the photo represents it) version of the layout - in layers. But sometimes it is rolled up and served as a snack. But today we will not deviate from the rules.
The first layer is onion, we put chopped fish on it and grease it with mayonnaise. After each layer is smeared with mayonnaise, and vegetables are in the following sequence: potatoes, carrots and beets. On top of the salad is covered with a thin layer of mayonnaise and decorated.
Mimosa salad"
Another popular dish in Russia. It is also prepared using fish, but it turns out to be very tender.
You will need:
- a jar of canned fish in oil (pink salmon, saury or to your taste);
- 2 medium carrots;
- 2-3 medium potatoes;
- 3 steep eggs;
- mayonnaise, dill.
How to cook
Boil carrots and potatoes, cool and peel. Rub on a coarse grater (in separate plates). We will clean the eggs and also individually rub the protein and yolk on a grater. Salt the liquid from canned food and remember the fish with a fork. Finely chop the dill.
Lay our dish in layers (each is coated with mayonnaise): fish, egg white, carrot, potatoes. Lubricate with mayonnaise and sprinkle with grated yolk. This treat should be infused for several hours before serving.
To summarize
Today we paid attention to the most popular salads of Russian cuisine. It should be noted that their diversity does not end there. Salads are prepared from fresh vegetables, fruits and even prepared for future use. Russian cuisine is truly great and varied, and we will certainly return to it. But this will be another article. Good appetite!