Russian Salad
Appetizers Christmas Recipes Fish and Seafood Vegetables Salads
An alternative to beef salad. It's an interesting variation with tuna, green olives, and mayonnaise flavored with roasted pepper. I think because of the way I prepared the dressing, this salad feels lighter than the classic beef salad.
This type of Russian salad with tuna is popular in Barcelona and is served at all tapas bars. I especially liked the one at Tapas 24, which was the inspiration for this recipe. I hope it inspires you too for your holiday menu.
Ingredients
4 potatoes (about 500g)
2 carrots (about 200g)
100g peas (frozen)
75g green olives (plain or stuffed with pepper)
150g canned tuna (good quality!)
salt, black pepper
Dressing
250g mayonnaise (4-5 generous tablespoons)
150g roasted red pepper (piquillo or kapia)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Garnish
gherkins, capers, olives, roasted pepper, anchovy fillets
How to prepare russian salad
- Boil the potatoes in their skins until a fork slides in easily. After they cool, peel them and chop into small cubes. Place in a bowl.
- In a separate small pot, boil the whole carrots until a fork slides in easily. Add the peas and boil for 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and cover with a lid. Let them cool.
- Chop the carrots into small cubes. Add them over the potatoes.
- Drain the peas and add them to the bowl as well. Season everything with salt and black pepper and mix gently so as not to crush the vegetables too much.
- Chop the olives and add them over the vegetables. Flake the tuna and add it too. Mix everything again. Taste for salt and pepper.
- In a food processor/blender, add the roasted pepper and 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise. Blend well until smooth. Add the remaining mayonnaise and lemon juice and blend again. Taste the dressing and adjust with salt and lemon juice. If the dressing is too thick, add 1-2 tablespoons of water and blend again.
- Pour most of the dressing (reserve a little for garnish) over the vegetables and mix gently.
- Arrange the salad in a wide bowl or on a platter. Pour the remaining dressing on top and level it. Decorate with whatever you like from the list. Serve with crispy whole grain bread.
Russian salad at Tapas 24
