selected as an editor’s pick by food52
Mr. Olivier came to prominence through his work at the Hermitage restaurant in Moscow, where he created his namesake salad in the 1860’s with luxurious ingredients such as beef’s tongue, aspic and even crayfish tails. Since then, variations on his salad have arisen in Spain, Mexico, Greece, Turkey, and even Iran, in each case retaining either his name or a tribute to his homeland with the name “Salad Rus.”
This salad was regularly served up in two large bowls on each side of the table at all my Russian family’s parties. It was such a mainstay in our household that I suppose I took it for granted, even as I regularly helped myself to seconds and thirds. Perhaps because I have it less often now, my appreciation for it has only grown. The crunchy, salty flavors punctuate the smooth, rich bites and Olive finds the overall effect more addictive than potato chips.
A week after making and writing about this salad, I confirmed my own research about its spread to other regions by seeing it listed on two different restaurant menus. Here, where I had a fantastic Persian lunch with Olive and my father, and here, where I was introduced to delicious Basque cuisine by a new friend and fellow food blogger. I’ll be going back to both places soon to discover more of their menus.
The coincidences didn’t stop when another friend and food blogger, only a few days ago, introduced me to a great new site for cooks and illustrators, where I discovered that Olivier salad is loved by many.
olivier potato salad
serves 10+ picnic people
3.5 lbs. yellow potatoes, cut into large chunks
3 very large carrots, peeled
3 hard boiled eggs, (1 of the yolks reserved)
4 small kosher dill pickles, diced
1 small red onion, diced
4 small crunchy kosher dill pickles*
8 oz. naturally smoked ham (ideally without nitrates or other preservatives)**
3/4 cup(s) Hellman’s lowfat mayonnaise
2 tablespoon(s) white wine vinegar
1 15oz can sweet peas, drained (2 tbsps peas reserved)***
2 teaspoon(s) kosher salt, add more to taste
In large pot of salted cold water, boil all the potatoes, carrots, and eggs. Take the carrots and eggs out as they become ready. The eggs should take approximately 12 minutes and the carrots and potatoes will be ready when a fork pierces through them very easily.
Shell the eggs and peel the skin off of the potatoes, if you haven’t done so already, and let them cool slightly.
Into a very large bowl, cut your potatoes into irregular shape, but uniform sized small pieces (about 1/2″). Cut your carrots and pickles into 1/4″ pieces. Add in your pickles, cubed ham, diced red onions, and add in the chopped eggs and 2 of the yolks. Mix the salad gently. While you may want to cheat and make larger pieces of everything, the reason for making the pieces all small is so that in every bite you will have a little bit of all the flavors.
Add in the mayonnaise, vinegar, and salt and mix gently. My “Olivier” recipe has a lot less mayonnaise than one might expect from a “Russian salad.” That’s because I like mayonnaise, but I don’t like my food swimming in it.
At the very end, add in the drained sweet peas, stirring carefully as to not mush them up. Taste the level of salt and adjust if necessary. (The salt will help bring the flavors out, so don’t worry if you think you’re adding more than you normally might.)
Decorate the top of the salad with the reserved chopped egg yolk and the rest of the peas. This salad is best served between the temperature of “tooth cold” and warm. You don’t want this sitting out in hot hot weather for too long. If it does, pop it in the fridge for 5 minutes and serve it again.
notes
*I’ve also made substitutions with canned black olives or capers instead of pickles, but do not include all three in one salad as to keep the level of salt in check, unless of course you have low blood pressure, in which case, go right ahead and add all 3!
**If you don’t have smoked ham on hand, I’ve used smoked turkey, bologna, or even cut up pieces of hot dog. If you happen to live in the NYC area or have an inclination to come into Astoria, go to this place, where they smoke their own meats and sausages without any preservatives. They’re the closest thing you can come to your own personal smokehouse without storing sausages in your friend’s garage.
***For this version of the salad, don’t use freshly cooked peas. You don’t want a crisp pea in here, it wouldn’t meld with the other ingredients. The crisp elements are onions and pickles alone and steamed or boiled peas would bring a waxy and watery texture. However, in the “Olivieh Salad” I had at the Persian restaurant linked above, everything was very shredded (they used chicken, more yolks and no pickles or onions), and the main crunch came from the fresh peas and it worked!
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
This sounds amazing!
So interesting to see the variations between your more authentically Russian version, and the one I posted that I made from memories of eating it in Spain (and at Txikito)! That Persian restaurant sounds divine–another place for lunch…
Funny, you featured an ‘olivier’ on your blog and i featured one on mine, too, not the same Olivier, though. This salad looks/sounds/smells absolutely terrific. Ok, i can’t smell it from here but it doesn’t make it any less awesome!
Zen, the texture on this Olivier salad is very playful—crunchy, salty, soft, viinegary-if you ever make it, let me know what you think!