Olivier Salad Recipe: Russia's New Year Salad

Ingredients

This makes 4 servings. As a starter with bread, it can be shared in small amounts among 6. What decides the flavor is not expensive ingredients but the size of the cubes and low moisture.

Differences when sourcing the ingredients

Some Russian home versions use boiled sausage called Doktorskaya. Russia Beyond explains that after the Second World War, hazel grouse and crayfish became hard to get and were replaced with cheaper sausage. Substituting sweet ham or fish sausage can bring sweetness or smoky aroma to the front, so the first time use chicken breast and put the acidity of the pickles and dill at the center.

For pickles, dill pickles or cornichons with clear saltiness and acidity suit better than sweet-sour cucumber pickles. Frozen green peas thawed briefly keep their color and snap better than canned. Since you use only 8 g of dill, if you don't plan to use the rest for fish dishes or pickle flavoring, switching to dried is fine.

Fresh dill is not always available in the same amount at every shop. Decide first whether to use only 8 g and freeze the rest, or switch to dried dill, and you won't be stuck with a large bunch. Check the quantity and stock before choosing.

Capers are not essential, but they bring back a little of the old restaurant feel of Olivier. 2 tsp is enough, and the leftover can go into pasta, fish dishes, and panzanella.

Dill decides the impression of the aroma. Even a small amount lightens the weight of cold root vegetables and egg, so using the leftover in okroshka (in Japanese) or fish dishes leaves no waste.

Chicken breast turns fibrous and dry when overcooked, especially once diced. Being able to measure the internal temperature makes it easier to stop at the moist state suited to salad.

Cooking tips

What separates a good Olivier salad is not the amount of mayonnaise but the moisture left in the ingredients. If you toss hot root vegetables the sauce loosens, and if droplets from the pickles and peas pool at the bottom of the bowl, the flavor stays thin even after chilling. Before adding moisture, chill the ingredients to bring them back.

Variations, regional differences, and the table

Olivier salad has no single "authentic right answer" with fixed ingredients. The dish served at a Moscow restaurant in the 1860s and today's home versions made with available ingredients differ greatly in content under the same name. Rather than hiding the differences and forcing it into one mold, choosing ingredients while keeping three things, acidity, cubes, and coldness, keeps the thread of the dish intact in any kitchen.

Closer to the Russian home version

Replace the chicken breast with 250 g of boiled sausage or a lean bologna-style sausage. Russia Beyond explains that after the Second World War, instead of hard-to-get wild birds and crayfish, sausages such as Doktorskaya came to be used in homes, and later chicken and beef versions spread. When using sausage, the salt increases, so hold back on salt in the cooking water and sauce and adjust at the end.

Closer to Spanish Russian salad

The Russian salad that became a staple in Spain combines potatoes, carrot, and green peas with tuna, cornichons, capers, and mayonnaise. Replacing the chicken with 150 g of oil-packed tuna and adding a few black olives moves it to a different table born from the same dish name. If the tuna becomes dry from draining too much oil, mix in 1 tsp of oil before increasing the mayonnaise, and taste to make sure the acidity does not get heavy.

Without meat, or with a milder aroma

If you leave out the chicken, increase the green peas to 120 g and the eggs to 4, and it stays satisfying. If you find the aroma of dill strong, replace half with parsley, but swapping the pickles for sweet ones removes the pillar of acidity, so leave out the brine and adjust with lemon juice. Check the ingredient labels for egg, mayonnaise, and mustard individually for people with allergies.

Plating for celebrations

Served on dark or rye bread, the roundness of egg and mayonnaise gains acidity. Beside warm dishes, pair it with pelmeni or kurnik, which wraps chicken and grain, and finish with medovik after the meal, and there is a flow from cold starter to warm main to sweet dessert. For an everyday dinner it is also easy to pair with grilled salmon, boiled pork, or a sour soup.

Storage and make-ahead

Because it uses chicken, eggs, and mayonnaise, move the finished salad to a clean shallow container and refrigerate it as soon as possible. Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare also advises not leaving cooked food and leftovers at room temperature for long, and cooling leftovers in shallow containers. Put out only the amount to be eaten at one time, and do not keep the rest sitting out in the big bowl.

You can prepare the cut ingredients the day before, but keep the pickles and green peas in separate containers and remove their moisture once more just before tossing. Once tossed with mayonnaise, aim to finish it within the same day to the next day, and discard anything left at room temperature for long, or with any change in smell or stickiness, without tasting. Freezing is not suitable, because the potato breaks down and water comes out on thawing.

Background of the dish

The starting point of Olivier salad is explained as a dish made in the 1860s at the Moscow restaurant Hermitage by the Belgian-born chef Lucien Olivier. Russia Beyond's materials list hazel grouse, veal tongue, caviar, crayfish tails, and capers, but the blend of the all-important dressing is not known. The Guardian also introduces how a dish that used expensive ingredients in its day became a staple in places including Spain.

Today's home versions have not remained in the same form as the original dish. Wild birds and crayfish that were hard to get were replaced by boiled sausage in post-Second World War Russia, and versions using chicken and beef spread. By using pickles in place of capers, and making it with canned or frozen green peas, it settled in not as a special restaurant dish but as one around which family and friends gather at a big bowl at New Year. That it is a dish valued on the New Year table in the Russian-speaking world is also common to the local sources.

The regional differences are not simply a matter of substituting ingredients. The Spanish Russian salad uses tuna, cornichons, capers, and mayonnaise and creates a different table to be eaten with bread and roasted vegetables. What to protect when recreating it elsewhere is not hunting for rare meat but cutting the ingredients to the same size, putting in one source of acidity, and chilling before plating. Then, even with chicken breast and frozen peas, the look of a dish shared a little at a time on a celebration day remains.

FAQ

Can I make it with ham or sausage?

Yes. Use 250 g of boiled sausage or 200 g of thick-sliced ham in place of the chicken breast. Salt and smoky aroma differ by product, so don't add salt to the sauce from the start; decide the seasoning after tossing. If you use sweet ham, keep the pickle brine in so the acidity remains.

Which is better, waxy or starchy potatoes?

If you want to keep the corners, waxy potatoes are easier to handle. Starchy potatoes also work if you boil them with the skin on, take them out when a skewer goes in, let them cool completely, and then cut them. Either way, the key is not to cook them until they fall apart in the water.

What if I want less mayonnaise, or can't use eggs?

Cutting the mayonnaise to 90 g gives a lighter finish where the cubes show. Even then, don't make up the moisture with brine or yogurt; chill it and check the firmness. If you avoid eggs, check the label of an egg-free mayonnaise, leave out the boiled eggs, and add 50 g of potato. For egg, mayonnaise, and mustard, you may also need to keep utensils separate.

Does it not taste like Olivier without capers?

They are not essential. They are an ingredient cited for the old restaurant dish, so adding just 10 g increases the saltiness and acidity. To lean toward the home version, omit them and use the pickles at 90 g, which is enough. If you add them, drain the jar liquid and adjust the sauce after checking the saltiness.

How long can I keep it?

Move it to a clean shallow container, chill it quickly, and aim to finish it within the same day to the next day. Anything left long at room temperature, or with a change in smell or stickiness, should be discarded rather than reheated. If you want to make ahead, stop at cutting the ingredients and toss with the mayonnaise on the day you eat, which makes moisture and safety easier to manage.

Sources

Culture and local information