Ensalada Rusa Guatemalteca (Russian Salad)

This chilled Ensalada Rusa or Russian Salad recipe is a well-liked aspect dish for each event in Guatemala from a churrasco (barbecue social gathering) to Christmas holidays and all the pieces in between.

It’s a straightforward chopped vegetable salad made with tender potatoes, carrots, peas, and inexperienced beans with crisp veggies bathed in a creamy, tangy dressing with herbs and mustard.  

What’s Ensalada Rusa Guatemalteca?

Ensalada Rusa Guatemalteca (Russian Salad Guatemalan or Chapina fashion) originated in Russia within the 1860s and has made its means world wide from Spain to the Philippines.

Whereas there are various variations of this chilled potato and vegetable salad, in Latin America and the Caribbean all function potatoes, carrots, inexperienced beans, and peas in a lightweight aioli dressing. 

In Russia, it’s also called Olivier Salad since Chef Lucien Olivier served it in his restaurant L’Hermitage in Moscow. 

This can be a common dish to serve at a churrasco Guatemalateco (Guatemalan barbecue) together with carne asada con chirmol, grilled inexperienced onions, grilled sausages, and pollo al carbon. But it surely’s equally common as an appetizer salad together with shrimp ceviche or salpicon de mariscos.  

It’s tremendous simple to make and might be ready upfront so it’s a good selection to serve with a hearty (labour-intensive!) Guatemalan stew resembling hilachas.

Why You’ll Love This Russian Salad Recipe

• Simple To Make Latin American Aspect Dish. When you’re new to cooking meals from different cultures, this Russian salad is a superb place to begin! Ensalada Rusa is common in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Dominican Republic, El Salvador and lots of different international locations!
• Good Change to Common Potato Salad. When you discover your potato salad a bit boring this Guatemalan model makes a pleasant change with a number of colour and a flavourful dressing.
• Nice Texture and Taste. The mixture of recent greens with others cooked to tender crispness offers ensalada rusa its signature crisp texture. The dressing is tangy and completely seasoned.

Elements

Making Ensalada Rusa (Guatemalteca or Chapina fashion) means utilizing largely recent elements for the vegetable salad together with a easy dressing utilizing pantry staples.

They’re all simple to search out in any grocery retailer. Right here’s a have a look at the highlights however you possibly can see your entire listing and portions within the recipe card.

• Carrots and Inexperienced Beans: Utilizing recent greens will lead to a a lot better texture to your dish.
• Potatoes: Use a waxy potato resembling Yukon gold or crimson potato which is able to maintain up higher after cooking.
• Peas: Since recent peas are seasonal, frozen peas work nice.
• Celery and White Onion: Chopped up recent so as to add some fragrant taste to the dish.
• Bell pepper: A mixture of crimson pepper and inexperienced pepper works nice for some extra colour distinction in addition to a distinction in flavors.
• Mayonnaise: Use an excellent high quality gentle mayonnaise. I used Hellmans which is my desire. For an excellent lighter model, swap a ¼ cup of plain yogurt for the mayonnaise.
• Garlic: Use recent garlic for the very best taste however strive to decide on one which’s extra gentle in taste so it’s not too overpowering within the dressing.
• White vinegar: Provides a little bit of tanginess to the dressing.
• Dijon mustard: Dijon is greatest for its distinctive and sophisticated taste.
• Seasoning: A easy mix of dried thyme, salt, and pepper brings all of the flavors collectively.

➡️ FUN FACT: The potato salad is so common, the annual San Sebastian Gastronomika Euskadi Basque Nation Pageant even hosts an annual Ensaladilla Rusa Championship for the very best ensalada rusa within the nation.

It’s judged by luminaries resembling well-known Basque chef Martin Berasatagui. 

Ensalada Rusa Variations

There are numerous variations of this aspect dish relying on the place it’s being served. Right here’s a have a look at among the hottest!

• From Spain: If you wish to benefit from the Catalan model of this salad add capers, tuna, inexperienced olives, or pickles. Ensaladilla Rusa is usually discovered within the chilly part of tapas menus throughout Spain. At Tapas24 certainly one of Barcelona’s hottest eating places, Chef Carles Abellan’s l’ensaladilla rusa (championship winner of 2019) options tuna, inexperienced olives, and breadsticks.  
• As a Foremost Dish: In Guatemala, it’s common to high the salad with slices of hard-boiled egg and luxuriate in it as a meal. You would additionally add chopped rooster or some white beans to the salad to make it heartier for a important dish.
• Ensalada Rusa Dominicana and Salvadoreña: Add one cup of cooked chopped beets (and an additional Tablespoon of mayonnaise) and stir so your entire salad is pink. 
• Including Beets: Some variations add beets however Ensalada Rusa Guatemalteca typically doesn’t. When it does, it’s known as Ensalada Rusa con Remolacha. 

Methods to Make Russian Salad Guatemalan-Type

1. Prep the greens: Peel and lower the potatoes into small diced items and trim the inexperienced beans. The diced items must be uniform. Additionally chop the celery, crimson and inexperienced peppers, and onion and set them apart.

2. Cook dinner the Greens. Boil the carrots, potatoes, inexperienced beans, and peas individually refreshing the water with every batch. The greens must be agency however not mushy. After cooking, drain the recent water, and immerse every vegetable in an ice water bathtub to cease the cooking course of. Drain the chilly water off and permit the cooked greens to chill and dry utterly by spreading them on a paper towel on a big cookie sheet.

3. Make the Dressing. Mix the salad dressing elements; mayonnaise, garlic, mustard, thyme, salt, and pepper in a big bowl and blend till mixed.

4. Mix the Elements. Add the cooked and uncooked greens to a big bowl.
5. Combine It Up. Add the dressing and blend gently. At this level the salad is blended however give it a style and modify the seasonings as wanted. If it seems too dry, add some chilly cream, milk, or water a tablespoon at a time till you attain the specified creamy consistency.

Permit the salad to chill for no less than an hour to offer the flavours time to merge. Garnish with parsley and serve.

How To Retailer

• Storage: Retailer the salad within the fridge in an hermetic container for as much as 4 days. You might need to add a little bit of cream, milk, or mayonnaise if it appears a bit dry when serving leftovers. Don’t freeze leftover salad.
• Make Forward: You may simply make Russian salad as much as a day upfront. It would really style higher after having a while to sit down. Give it an excellent stir and test the seasonings and consistency as chances are you’ll need to modify them barely.

Professional Ideas

• Don’t use frozen greens. Whereas it is perhaps tempting to make use of frozen blended greens, resist the temptation! You get a lot better taste and particularly texture for those who use recent greens.
• Boil every of the greens individually. Potatoes, carrots, peas, and inexperienced beans take variable instances to cook dinner. When you cook dinner them collectively in a single pot some will develop into mushy. It’s value the additional funding in time to cook dinner them individually.
• Be at liberty to make changes. After it’s blended you possibly can all the time add extra mayonnaise or a little bit of cream or milk for those who really feel prefer it’s too thick. Additionally, take a look at among the variations talked about above chances are you’ll need to strive.
• Chop the greens into uniform-sized items. This makes it a lot simpler to eat and it seems higher.

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Russian Salad (Guatemalan Type)

This chilled Ensalada Rusa or Russian Salad recipe is a brilliant common aspect dish for any event! It’s a straightforward chopped vegetable salad made with tender potatoes, carrots, peas and inexperienced beans with crisp veggies bathed in a creamy, tangy dressing with herbs and mustard.  

Prep Time10 minutes minutes

Cook dinner Time20 minutes minutes

Complete Time30 minutes minutes

Course: Salad

Delicacies: Guatemalan

Weight-reduction plan: Vegetarian

Servings: 4

Energy: 175kcal

Price: $10

Cook dinner ModeForestall your display from going darkish

Directions

• The carrots and potatoes must be peeled earlier than dicing and inexperienced beans trimmed. The diced items must be uniform.

• Boil the primary 4 greens individually refreshing the water with every batch. The greens must be agency however not mushy. Drain and immerse every batch of greens in ice water bathtub to cease cooking course of. Drain once more.

• Permit cooked greens to chill and dry utterly by spreading them on a paper towel on a big cookie sheet.

• Chop celery, crimson and inexperienced peppers and onion.

• Combine salad dressing elements of mayonnaise, garlic, mustard, thyme, salt and pepper) to make an aioli in a big bowl.

• Add cooked and uncooked greens to the aioli within the massive bowl and blend gently. Alter seasoning. If it seems too dry, add some chilly cream, milk or water by Tablespoon till creamy consistency is reached.

• Permit to chill for one hour for flavours to merge.

• Garnish with parsley and serve.

Notes

• Don’t use frozen greens. Whereas it is perhaps tempting to make use of frozen blended greens, don’t do it. You get a lot better flavour and particularly texture for those who use recent greens.
• Boil every of the greens individually. Potatoes, carrots, peas and inexperienced beans take variable instances to cook dinner. When you cook dinner them collectively in a single pot some will develop into mushy. It’s value the additional funding in time to cook dinner them individually.
• Be at liberty to make changes. After it’s blended you possibly can all the time add extra mayonnaise or a little bit of cream or milk for those who really feel prefer it’s too thick. Additionally, take a look at among the variations talked about above chances are you’ll need to strive.
• Chop the greens in uniform-sized items. This makes it a lot simpler to eat and it seems higher.

Word: Dietary data is just not assured to be correct. It’s created by on-line calculators so figures are solely estimates.

Diet

Energy: 175kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 5g | Fats: 7g | Saturated Fats: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fats: 4g | Monounsaturated Fats: 1g | Trans Fats: 0.01g | Ldl cholesterol: 4mg | Sodium: 572mg | Potassium: 622mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 7037IU | Vitamin C: 72mg | Calcium: 61mg | Iron: 2mg

Dividing her time between Canada, Guatemala and Mexico (or the closest tropical seaside), Michele Peterson is the founding father of A Style for Journey. Her award-winning journey and meals writing has appeared in Lonely Planet’s cookbook Mexico: From the Supply, Nationwide Geographic Traveler, Fodor’s and 100+ different publications.

Learn extra about Michele Peterson.