Russian Salad, or Salad Olivier: a cool meal for a hot night

Russian Salad, or Salad Olivier

After hearing rave reviews from a friend who recently had this in Spain, I experimented earlier this week with a salad whose history is as rich as its flavors. Called Russian Salad in some countries, it's known as Ensaladilla Rusa in Spain, but the Russians know it as Salad Olivier, named for the Belgian chef who created it at the famous - and expensive - Hermitage restaurant in Moscow. The story goes that the recipe was stolen by Chef Olivier's assistant, who then quit and took the recipe with him to a less expensive restaurant where it became knows as Stolichny Salad, or Capital Salad. The ingredients of the original recipe were a well-kept secret, but reportedly included such exotic ingredients as grouse, veal tongue, caviar, lettuce, crawfish tails, capers, and smoked duck, although it seems likely that the recipe varied somewhat from season to season. The original Olivier dressing was a type of mayonnaise, made with French wine vinegar, mustard, and Provençal olive oil; its exact recipe, however, remains unknown.  At any rate, it was a lovely meal salad, perfect for the hottest night I’ve ever experienced – I'm not sure what the low was but we had a high of 106!  Sadly, I forgot to take a picture of it, so the picture here is borrowed from Google images, but here’s my version:

2 C leftover cooked chicken, cut in bite size pieces (you can substitute other meat; ham is sometimes used in this salad, and it would be delicious with leftover boiled shrimp, too)

3 medium potatoes (1 lb), whole

1 large carrot, whole

2/3 C frozen green peas

2/3 C cooked green beans, cut in tiny pieces

1 large shallot or red onion, finely minced

1 stalk celery, very thinly sliced

4 cocktail gherkins or 6 cornichons, very thinly sliced

12 green olives, very thinly sliced

2 T non-pareil capers (optional)

3 hard-boiled eggs, thinly sliced

1 C mayonnaise, preferably homemade with extra virgin olive oil

1 T lemon juice

1 t Dijon mustard

Freshly ground black and/or white pepper, to taste

Chopped fresh parsley to garnish

Put the potatoes and the carrot in a medium saucepan of water; bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer and add a little salt.  Cook about 10 minutes and remove carrot.  Rinse the carrot in cold water to stop cooking and slice very thinly.  Continue to cook the potatoes until you can easily stick a fork in them, about 5 – 10 minutes more, depending on the size. Rinse in cold water and cut open to allow them to cool off.  When cool, chop in small cubes and add to the carrots.  You can peel them if you prefer; it’s traditional, but I like the skins.

Meanwhile, put the peas in a fine mesh strainer to defrost.  In a large bowl, add shallot, celery, green beans, gherkins/cornichons, olives, capers and sliced egg.  In a separate bowl or blender, whisk together the mayonnaise, lemon juice and mustard, then add to serving bowl with the shallot, gherkin/cornichon mixture and fold together gently.  Add the cooled diced potatoes and thinly sliced carrot and mix with other ingredients.  Add the chicken and defrosted peas and fold all ingredients together.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Chill for 30 minutes and serve garnished with chopped parsley.

You can make this ahead, but don’t serve it cold; it’s better just slightly chilled, or even at room temperature.  This is a great way to use up leftover boiled potatoes, meat and/or cooked vegetables.