Spanish Cuisine
Ensaladilla Rusa
Spain's "Russian salad" of potatoes, carrots, peas, egg, and tuna folded through olive-oil mayonnaise, served cold with picos and a cold beer.
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Serves
- 6
- Difficulty
- Easy
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History & Origin
The dish began, as the name admits, in Russia: at the Hermitage restaurant in 1860s Moscow, the Belgian-Russian chef Lucien Olivier built a lavish salad of game, crayfish, and caviar bound in his secret dressing. The recipe he took to his grave, but imitations of "Olivier salad" spread across Europe, growing humbler with every border crossed.
Spain took to it harder than anywhere, and swapped the aristocratic garnishes for potato, tuna, and olive-oil mayonnaise. During the Franco years some bars nervously rebranded it ensaladilla nacional, but the Russian name survived, and so did the dish. Today you find it in nearly every bar in Spain. At a beach chiringuito it is usually the first thing ordered, and Andalusians in particular rank their bars by it.
Ingredients & Instructions
- Boil the potatoes and carrots, unpeeled, in well-salted water until just tender, about 20 minutes depending on size. Add the peas for the final 2 minutes. Drain and let cool.
- Meanwhile, boil the eggs for 10 minutes, cool in iced water, and peel.
- Peel the cooled potatoes and carrots. Dice everything small; the pieces should fit several to a spoon. Chop two of the eggs, reserving one for the top.
- In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, carrots, peas, chopped egg, flaked tuna, and olives. Loosen the mayonnaise with the sherry vinegar and fold it through gently; the potatoes should stay in pieces, not mash.
- Taste for salt, then smooth the salad onto a serving plate. Classic bars dome it like a cake.
- Decorate with the remaining egg (sliced or grated over the top) and strips of roasted red pepper. Chill for at least an hour.
- Serve cold with picos. It is better after a night in the fridge, and it is the law that it be eaten with something cold to drink.
Notes
Dice by hand, never food-process; texture is everything. Good tinned tuna (bonito del norte if you can) and a mayonnaise made with mild olive oil separate a great ensaladilla from a sad buffet salad.