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Olivier Salad


Olivier Salad is a Russian New Year's tradition. Some people call it Russian Salad. Old Russian New Year is coming up later in January and I decided to try this classic and share the recipe.

Ingredients:

  • 3 - 4 white potatoes, boiled, peeled and diced
  • 3 large carrots, boiled and diced
  • 5 eggs, hard boiled and diced
  • 5 pickles, pickled in salt not vinegar, chopped
  • 3 scallions, chopped
  • 5 sprigs of dill, chopped (or more to taste)
  • 1 can (approx 15 oz.) green peas, drained
  • 1 cup Russian bologna, chopped (optional)
  • 1/3 cup real mayonnaise (or more to taste)
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

Method:

  1. Boil potatoes, carrots and eggs and allow to cool. 
  2. Peel potatoes and eggs and chop them along with carrots in uniform pieces. 
  3. Chop pickles, scallions and dill and mix together with potatoes, carrots and eggs. 
  4. Fold in the can of drained peas. 
  5. If you are using the bologna, chop and fold into the rest of the ingredients.
  6. Fold in the mayonnaise. 
  7. Add salt and pepper to taste. 
  8. Chill and serve.

For this to be a more authentic Olivier Salad it's important to find the Russian brand bologna which is different from our American brand bologna and to use pickles that are pickled with brine and not vinegar. There is a Russian Deli close to me that had the right brand of bologna and the right pickles.

The original Olivier salad (pronounced o-liv-ee-ay) is named after Lucien Olivier, a 19th-century Belgian chef who ran the Hermitage Restaurant in Moscow. If you google Olivier Salad you can read it's interesting history. Originally it was made with more expensive ingredients and because some of those ingredients became very hard to acquire during the Soviet era less expensive ingredients that were easy to obtain became more standard. There are different variations of this salad.

21 comments:

  1. It's interesting to know that this is also called Olivier Salad...In Bulgaria where we live, and other neighbouring Slavic countries, this is a very familiar and delicious salad. Yes, we call this Ruska Salata (Russian Salad).

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  2. Thank you for this recipe. One of my coworkers is from Poland. He brought a bowl of this salad from Chicago (the salad traveled several hundred miles) to share with my family. His mother still does not speak English well, but tried to send the recipe. You cleared questions that remained unanswered. Daniel called this simply Potato Salad. Thank you again.

    Your recipe is slightly different. His mom used diced apple where you have bologna.

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  3. I have NEVER seen this salad anywhere before and my Mom made it all the time! We called it Italian Wedding Salad my Dad's mom made it for their wedding. Don;t know where the Italian came from - they are German! LOL. Still, it is wonderful and my family would practically fall into the bowl every time it was served.

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  4. I have a friend at school who just made this salad for our staff Christmas Potlluck. She is, of course, from Russia, but has become a naturalized American citizen.

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  5. I'm betting my hubby would love this. You've got me curious about the pickles. I have a pickle lover in the family so I may have to go to the international grocery store in the city and see if they have it or the Russian bologna. Sometimes I'm amazed about the different ethnic grocery stores I hear about in KC. The few I've seen are small and look VERY ethnic. I think I would have to pray for someone with great patience to help me. I LOVE to try new things. I was in Russia and Poland during the early 70's....wow, what I saw of their grocery stores...sad. And it was so long ago I really don't remember what we ate. But that was also the lasting impression of our entire experience in the U.S.S.R......everyone we saw on the streets or interacted with just had a sad, downcast countenance. Beautiful buildings here and there but so sad. I wonder what it would be like to go to the same cities now.

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  6. Oh...not sure if I can find the special bologna and the special pickles, but if I've never had the real stuff, I won't know the difference, right?

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    Replies
    1. Vee, you don't need the bologna in the salad and I'm sure you can find a brand of pickles that are brined and not in vinegar. You might find them in the cold section of the deli. And you are right the salad will taste great with any kind of pickle...

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  7. Thanks for sharing! I'm going to give this a try soon. We have a Ukranian Deli nearby that carries a lot of Russian products, so I think I can find the pickles there. Will let you know how it turns out :-)

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  8. Mmm mm! A meal in a salad! Looks delicious Ellen - thanks!

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  9. When we lived in Ecuador, we enjoyed a variation on this salad, without bologna or pickles, and it was called "Ensalada Rusa" - Russian Salad.

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  10. I can't wait to make this salad. My Mom used to make bologna salad and I ate it while living in Germany. This one looks incredible. Definitely making in the next couple days!

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  11. My Hungarian mother in law makes this and they call it French Salad. She makes it with cooked chicken breast and a vinegar based pickle. She also add a little horseradish to the dressing and of course Hungrian Paprika.

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  12. Logo kooks so yummy, all the stuff I like! Must either make or find a Russian deli around here. SLC seems to sport a deli from everywhere !

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  13. Our Russian friends from Siberia make this salad for New Year's. I love it and I'm happy to have the recipe. Thank you!

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  14. Wow, this sounds really delicious and I know I'd love it. Thanks for the recipe and the history too, Ellen.

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  15. I pretty much ate my body weight in this salad when we were in Ukraine 6 years ago. I absolutely loved it!! It was on the menu any place we stopped to eat and was served in a pretty individual glass dish with each ingredient layered separately and the mayo on top. Thanks for posting, it brought back many good memories! Lisa S.

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  16. So many variations of this. My mom uses sometimes boiled chicken or no meat at all. And never dill., tasty!

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  17. Hi! I'm from Russia and glad you have this recipe of Olivie Salad. Olivie was a cook in one of Moscow restaurants and he was the author of the new salad. He tried to do every ingredient in its layer: potatoes, onions, bologna, etc.But when the guests began eating they mixed all components, Olivie was angry. Since that time the Olivie salad is made as in your recipe.
    I love to cook it as well and remember the times when it had been prepared in big bowls for many people!
    Nadezda

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  18. Hello!
    I come from Nadezda ...
    I know and do the salad and is often done in my country, Poland.
    You have a beautiful blog ...
    I send greetings from distant Polish.
    Lucia

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