My Russian Salad ©

 

 

 

 

 

 

This recipe was a very popular salad in the 60’s and was a favourite of my fathers. It came into my thoughts recently and I decided to make it and remember his enthusiasm every time he ate it. It is funny how as children we retain certain memories. I am not a fan of peas, so this recipe I have made without peas, which makes it much lighter. Homemade mayonnaise makes all the difference and it is a good way to use left over chicken. If you want to do something a little different you can replace the chicken with tinned tuna or better still freshly boiled shelled shrimp, the latter gives an excellent result for a special occasion.

 

 

Easy

 

 

 

Serves 6-8 persons

 

 

 

Preparation Time: 1 hour

 

 

 

Ingredients

3 large boiled potatoes

3 large boiled carrots

2 hard boiled eggs

Meat from 1/2 roast chicken, or tinned tuna or freshly boiled shelled shrimp

3 tbs boiled peas ( optional)

1 raw onion diced

2 gherkins

1 tbs capers

Salt and freshly ground pepper

 

Homemade Mayonnaise

1 egg yolk

2 tsp ‘Dijon’ mustard

1 medium lemon juice

1/2 tsp salt

300 ml corn or sunflower oil

2 tbs olive oil

(  No black pepper as it shows up in the mayonnaise.)

 

Garnish

Strips of tomato

Slices of gherkins

Capers

Kalamata Olive quarters

 

Method

 

1. Gather together all your ingredients.
2. Wash, peel and boil vegetables. Hard boil eggs.
3. Cut up roast chicken into mouth sized pieces or break up tinned tuna or boil frozen shelled shrimp.
4. Dice vegetables, fresh onion, gherkins and capers.
5. Place all the above ingredients in a large serving bowl.
6. Make up homemade mayonnaise, by placing egg yolk, salt and mustard into clean bowl. Add oil drop by drop, beating with a whisk until you have about a tablespoon of stiff mayonnaise. Then add lemon juice and the rest of the oil, more quickly, beating all the time. ( Should the mayonnaise separate, place a fresh egg yolk into a clean bowl and add the separated mixture gradually to egg yolk, beating continuously.)
7. Add 2/3 rd. of the mayonnaise to the bowl of ingredients and mix well. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Level off your ingredients with a knife giving it a slightly coned shape and spoon over the remaining mayonnaise. Decorate with strips of tomato, capers, gherkins, olives and a sprig of parsley.

 

 

Cook’s Tip : This makes a great addition to a buffet, especially if made with shrimps for a special occasion.

 

What you are aiming for:

 

 

 

 

Make up Mayonnaise :

 

Place egg yolk, mustard and salt into clean bowl.

 

Add corn or sun flower oil very gradually. Drop by drop and mixing in each time. Here I have added a little pepper, but as you will notice, it shows up in the final result, so only add pepper to chopped ingredients.

 

 

 

 

When the mayonnaise begins to stiffen, add lemon juice, after which the remaining oil can be added more quickly. Finally add a little olive oil for flavour. Taste for salt. Add 2/3 rd. of mayonnaise to chopped ingredients and smooth off on top with a knife. Use the rest of the mayonnaise to give a smooth finish and decorate.

 

 

Final result. Serve as a starter or part of a buffet.