Russia is one of the most popular destinations in the world, thanks to the beauty of its landscapes and especially its delicious recipes like the Olivier salad. Do you want to know more about it?
Russia is one of the most popular destinations in the world, thanks to the beauty of its landscapes and especially its delicious recipes like the Olivier salad. Do you want to know more about it? Read this article.
A short history of the Olivier salad
Olivier salad is commonly known as Russian salad all over the world. But in Russia, it is known as Olivier salad. Indeed, it owes its name to its French-Belgian creator Lucien Olivier, the owner of the famous restaurant “L’Ermitage”. According to the story, Lucien Olivier was the youngest son of a French cooking family. He went to Russia in search of fortune and settled in Moscow. After that, he created a restaurant (L’Ermitage) and proposed for the first time a recipe for a salad with Provencal sauce (a sauce invented by his father). At that time, this salad consisted of nine elements, namely potatoes, olives, gelinotte meat, cucumbers, bistort, lettuce and truffles, soy sauce, and Provençal sauce.
Satisfied with the taste of this salad, many Russians try to find out how to prepare this delicious recipe, of which only Lucien Olivier knows the secret. Over the years, he has had to hire a chef to help him, as the orders he has been receiving have been growing steadily. However, his kitchen helper was jealous of him and did everything he could to discover his secret. Once he achieved his goals, he rushed to resign and joined the Moskva restaurant as a cook. Despite his best efforts, he could not reproduce the same recipe. However, it is this copied version that is widely spread.
Ingredients needed to make your own Olivier salade
It depends on your preferences and the number of people who will taste it. If there are 4 of you, you need 400 g of potatoes, 200 g of carrots, 165 g of canned peas, 165 g of saveloy, 4 eggs, 3 to 4 pickles, 135 g of mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
Preparation of the Olivier salad
The preparation of the Olivier salad is done in several steps. It starts with peeling the carrots and potatoes. Once you have finished washing them, proceed to cut them. Ideally, you want to give them a medium dice shape (about 1 cm).
After that, put water in two pots, one to cook the cut carrots and potatoes and the other to cook the eggs. The cooking time is about 12 minutes. To save time, cut the saveloy and the pickles in the same way as you did with the vegetables. And reserve a pickle for decorating your salad.
After 12 minutes, you must drain the vegetables. As for the hard-boiled eggs, soak them in cold water. Once cold, peel them. To make this task easier, be sure to tap the eggs against a hard surface. After that, dice two eggs and reserve the remaining two for decorating your salad.
Now it’s time to mix all the ingredients. For this, you will need a large bowl. Then put the cooled vegetables, the drained peas, the various small cubes (saveloy, pickles, and eggs). Pour in the mayonnaise, then the lemon juice. Add salt and pepper to the mixture. Finish the preparation by mixing your recipe well. To make it taste better and stay fresh, cover it with cling film and put it in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.
For the presentation, cut the gherkin into slices and the two remaining eggs into quarters. And put them on your Olivier salad.
This recipe might sound quite strange and bizarre but trust me on this one, try making it at home and taste it. It is weird good, and appetizing. Sound off in the comments section below and tell us if you want to read the Olivier salad.