Dish of Diced Vegetable Salad
(click to enlarge)

Diced Vegetable Salad


Russia   -   Vinegret iz Kartofelya i Svyokly
Makes:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 5-3/4 #
***
6 hrs
Yes		 This delicious recipe can serve as a salad, a buffet dish, a first course for dinner, or as a light lunch. Can be made fancy (see Serving).

1
1
1-1/2
8
5
9
1/4
1/2
-------
3/4
1/2
2
1/2
2/3
1/2
-------
#
#
#
lrg
oz
oz
c
T
----
c
c
t
T
t
t
----
Beets
Peas & Carrots (1)  
Potatoes (2)
Eggs
Dill Pickles
Red Kidney Beans (3)
Black Olives (4)
Capers
-- Dressing
Mayonnaise (5)
Sour Cream
Paprika
Capers
Salt
Pepper
-- Garnish
Dill, fresh (6)

It is best to do the Prep section the day before or at least some hours before so everything has time to cool thoroughly. Obvious from the quantities, this recipe is scaled for parties. Particularly good if there are likely to be vegetarians attending.

Prep   -   (35 min work - 1-3/4 hrs cooking - 3 hrs cooling)
  1. Boil BEETS just until done through. Cool them under cold water enough to handle and rub off the skins. Cool thoroughly.
  2. Slice Beets about 3/8 inch thick and cut into 3/8 inch dice.
  3. Thaw PEAS & CARROTS, drain and set aside.
  4. Peel POTATOES and cut into about 3/8 inch dice. Place in cold salted water, bring to a boil and simmer until cooked through. Strain out and cool with cold running water. Drain well and set aside.
  5. Hard cook EGGS. See our method Boiling Eggs for best results, but even so, start a couple extras in case some have invisible cracks. Shell them and cool thoroughly.
  6. Cut PICKLES into 1/4 inch dice.
  7. Drain BEANS, rinse and drain well (presuming canned).
  8. Pit OLIVES (if needed) and chop fairly small.
  9. Cool everything really well.
Run   -   (25 min)
  1. Mix together the Beans, Capers and all the Diced Items, mixing in the Potatoes last.
  2. Cut Eggs into 3/8 to 1/2 inch dice. Preferably use a wire cutter - see the Wire Egg Cutter at the bottom of our Egg Tools page.
  3. Gently mix the Eggs into the Salad. Use your hands to prevent breaking up as much as possible.
  4. Mix together all Dressing Items and gently mix into Salad, again with your hands.
  5. Garnish as desired and serve cold (see Serving).
NOTES:

  1. Peas & Carrots:

      The pattern recipe uses these the authentic Soviet way, Peas, Carrots and Beets out of cans. Unless you really want Soviet authenticity, we strongly suggest the frozen mix of Peas and Diced Carrots, and fresh Beets.

  2. Potatoes:

      White Rose or similar work very well in salads, and work well peeled and diced before cooking, which makes things much easier. For details see our Potatoes page.

  3. Kidney Beans

      We do use these out of a can for convenience, but select a brand where the beans are quite intact. The example photo is with Goya brand.

  4. Black Olives

      These should be natural Mediterranean Olives, not the black California type. I use medium size Kalamatas which I can get pre-pitted.

  5. Mayonnaise:

      Home made is best, but can be risky, especially in business friendly Red States, due to the raw egg yolks. Second best is Hellmann's (east of the Mississippi) or Best Foods (west of the Mississippi), as nearly all food writers agree.

  6. Serving:

      For a formal Russian serving, reserve 1/4 cup or so of the dressing. Place salad in a bowl and smear the top with dressing. Decorate with egg slices or wedges and black olives. My dill garnish works fine for informal buffet services.
  7. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
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