The Russian salad is a traditional recipe that has many versions in Spain, just like the Piedmontese salad in Italy. It is the classic recipe of a lifetime that is passed from generation to generation, and each person has their special trick to make a perfect homemade Russian salad. There are many ingredients that combine very well (peas, carrots, onion, shrimp, surimi, red pepper or olives) which is why there are so many versions to make homemade Russian salad. But they all have something in common, because in a homemade Russian salad recipe you can never miss the potato or the hard-boiled egg. Everything else can vary depending on our tastes, although we are going to focus on making one of the most traditional recipes.
Ingredients (for 4 people):
To prepare a homemade Russian salad recipe in the most traditional way, we will need the following ingredients:
Steps for its preparation:
1. Keep in mind that vegetables have different cooking points, and we will have to boil them separately. For the rest, the preparation is very simple, with the following steps:
2. Cook the peas in water with a pinch of salt for 10 minutes. Drain and reserve, letting them cool.
3. Peel and cut the carrots into small cubes, boil them in slightly salted water for about 10 to 15 minutes, and when they are tender, remove from heat, drain and reserve, leaving the pieces to cool
4. We cook the eggs for about 7 or 8 minutes, remove from the heat, and cool them directly under cold water so that they can be peeled more easily. Peel them and reserve, letting them cool.
5. Peel the potatoes, cut them into cubes and boil them in slightly salted water for about 12-15 minutes, until they are tender. Drain them and reserve them, letting them cool.
6. In a salad bowl we introduce all the already cold foods: the peas, the potato cubes and the carrot squares. Mix carefully, cut the eggs into pieces, introduce them and mix again.
7. Crumble the tuna, add it to the bowl, mix well and we already have the Russian salad in the absence of mayonnaise. Store in the fridge to eat cold.
Preparation of mayonnaise
Homemade mayonnaise is much tastier than what we can buy already made. Also, it is very easy and quick to do. If we choose to make a homemade mayonnaise, we will do the following:
In the glass of our blender, add the oil, the egg and a pinch of salt. We introduce the arm of the mixer in the bottom and we begin to beat without moving from the bottom, until we see that the mayonnaise begins to curdle. At that moment, we can already move the arm throughout the glass.
Add the teaspoons of vinegar and continue beating. Optionally, we can add a squeeze of lemon. Store the mayonnaise in the fridge and let it cool.
Presentation of the Russian salad
Pour the mayonnaise over the salad that we already have prepared in the bowl, stir well until it is distributed throughout all the vegetables, and as an optional step, we can garnish with some strips of peppers, or some olives and gherkin. We already have it ready to serve.
Tricks and advice for making the perfect Russian salad
Making a homemade Russian salad recipe is very easy and is up to anyone, even if we are not expert cooks. But there are a series of issues that we must take into account, so that our Russian salad is perfectly flavored.
These are the basic ingredients of a traditional Russian salad, although we can vary them or add others to our liking: chopped onion, prawns or white asparagus. The Russian salad is very versatile.
It is tastier for our homemade Russian salad to prepare the mayonnaise instead of buying it. It is very easy to do, as long as we keep the arm in the background when beating so that the mayonnaise does not cut.
If we want to make a slightly lighter and softer Russian salad, we can substitute the virgin olive oil for the sunflower oil.
Although the Russian salad is an easy and affordable recipe, each vegetable needs its cooking time, so it is essential to boil them separately until each vegetable is ready, and this is the step that can give us the most work , but this way we will ensure that the potato is not hard, or the peas are too soft.
Choosing a good canned tuna is the key to making a perfect salad. It is important to choose one that is of good quality, even if it is more expensive.
It's also worth choosing good, boilable, new potatoes. The Monalisa variety is one of the best and one of the most easily found on the market.
Garnishing the salad with sliced pickles adds extra flavor.
To accompany our Russian salad recipe, nothing better than some picos de Jerez or the classic scolds with sesame. We will have an amazing first course or appetizer.
The Russian salad is preserved with all its qualities in the fridge, and can last up to a couple of days to consume it.