Olivier Salad (Francoska solata)

 In the US it is called Russian salad; in Spain, little Russian salad; in Denmark, Italian salad. Olivier salad is a salad of many names. It is also extremely popular in Slovenia, where we call it francoska solata or French salad (I know!).

The original Olivier salad started out as a delicacy for the rich in the 1860s with ingredients such as caviar, crayfish tails, smoked duck, etc. Its inventor was Lucien Olivier, the chef of the restaurant Hermitage, which was frequented by the Russian upper classes and intelligentsia, including Turgenev and Tchaikovsky.

Olivier carried the precise recipe to his grave; however, one of his apprentices, Ivan Ivanov, offered a very similar salad on his menu at the restaurant Moskva in the 1930s, after the revolution. The restaurant Moskva was inferior to Hermitage, and therefore so were the ingredients in the salad: instead of caviar, you would get carrots and fermented cucumbers; instead of the secret dressing, the Soviet mayonnaise.

The revamped Olivier salad was promoted by the Soviet government in 'The Book of Tasty and Healthy Food' in 1939. The propaganda worked and the salad became a part of every New Year celebration. With Russian immigrants, the Olivier salad traveled to other countries, including Slovenia, where we get to enjoy it to this day.

From Russia with mayo: the story of a Soviet super-salad

Recipe

Ingredients:

• 300 g peeled and cubed potatoes

• 200g peeled and cubed carrots

• 200 g peas

• 150 g cornichons*

• 200 g mayonnaise**

• 1 tsp mustard*

• 1/2 tsp salt

• freshly ground pepper

*Cornichons are a type of gherkin. They are extremely crunchy and should not be substituted with non-crunchy pickles. For the mustard and the cornichons, I really like the brand Maille. I prepare Olivier salad with these cornichons: https://us.maille.com/products/mini-cornichons-classique and this mustard: https://us.maille.com/collections/instabadge-best-selling/products/dijon-originale-mustard.

**I use Thomy mayonnaise. When I lived in the US I would order 10 jars from German online stores at once and then keep them in storage. Here in Switzerland it is easier since Thomy is available in every supermarket.

Tip: Some like hard-boiled eggs in their Olivier salad. For this amount of vegetables, you can use to if you want to. In my family we always serve the salad without hard-boiled eggs.

Instructions:

1. Put potatoes into a saucepan and add enough cold water to cover them completely. Add salt and bring to a boil. Boil the potatoes for 10 minutes at medium heat. Drain and remove the potatoes to a bowl. 

2. Put carrots and peas into a saucepan, cover them with salted water and cook at high heat for at most 10 minutes (do not wait for the water to boil -it takes 10 minutes from the time the water starts heating up).

3. Cut cornichons into cubes.

4. Mix all the vegetables and cornichons together with mayonnaise, mustard, and salt. Pepper to taste.

5. Put the salad into the fridge and serve cold. I love it with bread and Emmental cheese. In Slovenia it is often served next to a Charcuterie board.