Russian salad, Olivier salad or sallatë Ruse as it's called in Albanian is a traditional Russian and Eastern European side dish usually prepared for holidays or special occasions. In Albania this eye catching, delicious and colorful vegetable dish was made particularly for New Year’s Eve dinner and it was present on almost all tables. Main ingredients are potatoes, carrots, eggs and mayonnaise. Olivier salad is best when all ingredients are diced to the same size. Dice everything pea-sized for best look, taste and texture.
Bring potatoes to boil over high heat, than reduce heat to medium and cook at rapid simmer until potatoes are easily pierced with a fork for about 10 minutes.
Boil carrots the same way as potatoes but the simmer for 5-7 minutes.
Cook vegetables with their skins, do not overcook them. They should be firm when pierced with fork.
Hard boil eggs and steam green peas.
Peel the potatoes, carrots and eggs. Allow them to cool down to room temp before dicing.
Drain the red beans well and pickles in a sieve or pat dry with paper towel.
Dice all vegetables to the same size for best look, texture and taste.
In a large mixing bowl, place diced potatoes, carrots and eggs. Add red beans, greens peas, scallions and pickles. Once you have everything diced and ready to go, it’s time to dress the Russian salad.
For dressing, mix mayonnaise with lemon juice, dill, salt and pepper.
Pour the mayonnaise dressing into the bowl of vegetables and red beans and use a spatula to combine everything together into a uniform mixture.
Cover the Russian salad and chill for at least one hour, to allow flavors to come together.
Garnish with dill or parsley and serve.
12 servings
1
* The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
