Russian Bean Salad Food

AUTHENTIC RUSSIAN SALAD 'OLIVYE'

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil; add potatoes and carrot. Return mixture to a boil and add eggs; cook until potatoes are tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Drain and slightly cool mixture. Chop potatoes and carrot; peel and chop eggs.
• Mix potatoes, carrot, eggs, pickles, peas, ham, and parsley together in a large bowl; stir in mayonnaise until salad is evenly coated.

RUSSIAN BEAN SALAD

Steps:

• Drain and rinse beans.
• Combine all ingredients and chill.

WARM RUSSIAN SALAD

Steps:

• Put a very large saucepan of salted water on to boil. Cut the potatoes to marshmallow size, the carrots and celery into dice about two-thirds that size; and the French beans into 2cm/3⁄4in pieces.
• Add the vegetables in turn to the pan of boiling water, starting with the potatoes and ending with the peas. Cook until they are all just tender (neither crunchy, nor fondant). Drain and keep warm.
• Meanwhile, make the hollandaise. Put the egg yolks, vinegar and lemon juice into a blender and whizz for a few seconds. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over a lowish heat, then raise the temperature and bring the butter to a bubble. Leave the pan to one side for a minute to allow the milky residue to settle.
• With the blender going, slowly pour a thin stream of butter through the lid. Continue adding the golden liquid until the milky sediment appears (discard it). Remove the lid, season the sauce and whizz for a few more seconds. Replace the lid and keep the hollandaise in a warm place (but NOT over direct heat) for up to 30 minutes.
• Tip the warm vegetables into a large mixing bowl and add the gherkins and (optional) capers. Very, very gently stir in the sauce, using a soft plastic scraper. Serve as soon as possible.

RUSSIAN BEET SALAD

Steps:

• PRECOOK BEETS:.
• Wash the beets and trim the ends off before cooking.
• To ROAST: Place trimmed beets in a roasting pan and add a little water for steam. Roast the beets at 425 degrees F for 30 to 45 minutes (cover the pan with foil) or until the beets are easily pierced with a knife.
• To BOIL: Cook the beets for 20 to 30 minutes, or until tender.
• To MICROWAVE: Cook the beets with a little water for 8 to 15 minutes on HIGH.
• Slip off the skins under running water and grate or dice.
• PREPARE SALAD:.
• Mix grated or diced cooked beets, chopped walnuts (if serving immediately; otherwise, reserve until serving), and crushed garlic.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Add mayonnaise and mix well.

EASY RUSSIAN SALAD

Steps:

• Cook the carrots and potatoes in a pan of boiling salted water for 4 mins, then throw in the peas and cook for 4 mins more until all the vegetables are tender. Drain, cool for a few mins, then tip into a bowl with the cornichons, mayonnaise and parsley, if using. Mix well and season to taste. Delicious with leftover roast beef or lamb, wedges of pork pie or cold sliced ham or chicken.

RUSHIN' RUSSIAN RED BEANS

Steps:

• Put the jam, vinegar, garlic, basil and coriander in a saucepan; cook gently over a low heat until the jam has melted.
• Empty the contents of the can (including the water) into the damson sauce mixture and bring to the boil.
• Cook on a low to medium heat for about 5-8 minutes until the liquid has reduced to a good saucey consistency (not too runny, not too thick!): season with a pinch of salt and good grind of black pepper.
• Serve hot or cold: your choice.

RUSSIAN SALAD

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to boil. Season with salt.
• Add whole potatoes to the boiling water, and cook 15 minutes. Add whole carrots to the cooking potatoes, and cook both another 10 minutes. Remove potatoes and carrots with a spider when easily pierced with a cake tester or a very thin knife blade, and set aside in a bowl.
• Add frozen peas to boiling water, and using the spider, remove them to a separate bowl as they float, until all peas have floated and been transferred to the bowl.
• Gently add the eggs, and allow to boil 10 minutes.
• While the eggs cook, peel the potatoes and carrots under cold running water by rubbing them gently with your fingers. Rinse the peas under cold running water to cool.
• Once the eggs are cooked, drain them, and peel under cold running water.
• Neatly dice the potatoes, carrots, ham, eggs and cornichons to the same approximate (and rather small) size as the peas, aiming for uniformity. Gently toss them all together in a large bowl.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise with the cornichon brine, and pour over the salad. Toss gently with rubber spatula or using your fingers until the salad is well coated. Season with several hearty grinds of black pepper.
• Refrigerate overnight, and serve cold.