As per the name, the salad has its origin in Russia, Moscow. Although, the salad was invented in the 19th century by a Belgian cook Lucien Olivier, it consists of very few ingredients as it is known nowadays.
Anyway, My Special Russian Salad offers a smooth mix of flavours of long cooked beef, pickled vegetables, potatoes, fruits, boiled eggs and mayonnaise, of course.
Having good products is always must. In this very recipe the mayonnaise, especially. You can serve the salad during special occasions like Christmas, as a New Year’s snack, a Birthday savoury meat tart or a proper brunch snack, which they do in the Netherlands.
This very recipe is my boyfriend’s production and let me tell you, it is a guarantee of good comfort food. Yummy!
Total Time: 1 day
Shopping List
½ kg of round/shank beef, cleaned in chunks
Sea salt and black pepper
6 Cloves
2 bay leavesThe Salad:
1,5 kg of potatoes, washed, peeled and diced
6 sour sweet pickles (spicy optional), finely chopped
2 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 small jar of pickled peas with carrot
½ jar of pickled sweet corn
1 jar of good quality mayonnaise
A splash of juice from sour sweet pickles
1 tablespoon of Worcestershire Sauce
To decorate:
Few leaves of Iceberg Salad, washed
1 small jar of pickled mandarins (optional)
6 pickled onions
4 Boiled eggs with a splash of Curry Heinz Ketchup
8 cherry tomatoes
Few slices of salami
2 handfuls of sweet corn
8 cornichons
Fresh bread or baguettes to serve with
Instructions
The Beef
Season the beef with the sea salt and pepper. Heat up a knob of butter in a deep-frying pan on high heat.
Add the beef and roast it until golden.
Lower the heat and baste it with hot boiling water. Stick cloves into bay leaves and throw them in.
Cover with a lid and simmer for about 2 hours on low heat.
The Salad
Meanwhile, cook the potatoes in a large deep pot filled with salted hot boiling water until soft, for about 20 minutes. Let them cool down and set aside.
Next, prepare all the ingredients: pickles, peas, carrot, corn and sauces. Boil the eggs in a salted hot boiling water for about 10 minutes.
Once the meat is really tender, place it into a large serving bowl, together with the potatoes.
Shred it into small pieces and mix. Let it cool down entirely. Taste and taste, season accordingly.
Next, add all ingredients (pickles, peas, carrot, corn, mayonnaise and Worcestershire Sauce). Pour in the splash of the pickled juice and mix well. Taste and season accordingly.
Presentation
Nicely smoothen the top of a bowl and decorate.
No limits to imagination. You can place leaves of the Iceberg Salad on the bottom of a serving bowl and place the salad on the top of it. Adjust it with your desirable topping.
You can also decorate with the mandarins, halved pickled onions and halved boiled eggs. Sprinkle with The Curry Heinz Ketchup, halved cherry tomatoes and roses of salami.
Serve cold with a fresh bread or baguette. Eet Smakelijk!
Makes 1 large salad bowl.