Olivier salad was an integral part of the festive table of Russians in Soviet times. Its popularity was due to the availability of all the ingredients of this salad. Most of them grew in the gardens, the rest could be bought without difficulty, again, all these ingredients were well stored all winter. By the way, that is why this salad is often called "Winter".
However, the story of this salad is mysterious and interesting. He appeared in the 1860s. Its author was the French cook Lucien Olivier. The salad, the recipe of which the cook had never disclosed to anyone, became the main course in his Hermitage tavern on Pipe Square. In fact, this restaurant was a luxurious and expensive restaurant, with a truly palace decoration. The only difference from the restaurants of that time was that the waiters were not dressed in indispensable tailcoats, but in the traditional costumes of Russian sex workers.
This restaurant was very popular among nobles, merchants, and then merchants, as well as creative intelligentsia. And along with the tavern, an unusually tender salad became popular . He became so popular that over time it was he who made up the reputation of the institution, and not vice versa.
Many chefs tried to guess the salad recipe, but no one succeeded. Only in 1904, after the death of Olivier, the salad, the recipe of which was recovered from memory by one of the regulars of the Hermitage tavern and a famous gourmet, was revived, although it did not get its former popularity.
The original Olivier salad recipe has been lost forever. It remains to be satisfied with what has been restored. According to this restored recipe, the following ingredients were included in the dish: boiled grouse meat, veal tongue, also boiled, black caviar, green salad leaves , crayfish or lobster, pickles, soybean paste, capers and eggs. As a salad dressing, Provence sauce was used, which was prepared from vinegar, olive oil and egg yolks. Now you can afford to cook Olivier salad, the original recipe of which is written above. The only thing that nowadays is no longer producing such a product as soybean paste. Instead, it is proposed to use canned white beans. In addition, it is very important to prepare the sauce yourself, and not buy mayonnaise in the store. It is believed that he is able to ruin the whole taste of the salad.
Where did the salad come from, which is still known in every house under the same name "Olivier" salad? His recipe underwent a number of changes due to the fact that a series of wars and Soviet policies made most of the products used in the original recipe scarce. And since everyone wants to join the gourmet cuisine, these ingredients, if possible, were replaced by similar ones that were at hand. So it turned out simple and affordable, and, in general, a delicious salad, which, nevertheless, can not be compared with the original.
Nowadays, when products became affordable again, the Soviet Olivier salad recipe, colloquially called Zimny, fades into the background, as there is room for experimentation, people often try new recipes, try their best to diversify the table. However, even now Olivier is a salad, everyone knows their recipe and there are almost always products for him, which means that he can help a hostess out of the blue if guests come unexpectedly, without warning. And in those cases where there is no desire to mess with new, untested recipes, you can always return to the classic salad.
And so, how and from what is Olivier salad now prepared? Everything is very simple: boil 4 medium potatoes, carrots and 5 chicken eggs, and cut into cubes, cut 300 g of cooked sausage (or boiled meat) in the same way, 3 pickled or pickled cucumbers and one medium onion. Pour all the ingredients in a bowl, pour a jar of green peas there and season with mayonnaise. It remains only to guess in what order and instead what these or those ingredients were included in this salad.
By the way, some gourmets prepare this salad with red fish and call it “Royal Olivier”. The recipe differs very slightly: instead of boiled sausage, you need to take 300 g of red fish, and instead of canned peas, use frozen. Before you put the peas in the salad, you need to throw it in boiling water for two minutes.