Ingredients
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2 spring beetroots (5-6 cm diameter)
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200 g spring potatoes
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2 medium carrots
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5-6 cherry tomatoes
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2 cucumbers (10 cm length)
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150 (1/2 can) canned green peas
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½ cup spring onion, chopped
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½ cup parsley, chopped
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Salt
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Vinegar
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Sunflower oil
Directions
Vinaigrette Salad is a mysterious and, at the time, easy and familiar dish for many people. Vinaigrette salad was one of the main salads in the USSR, competing only with Oliver and Crab stick salads. These salads can be referred to as three pillars of the Soviet cuisine. The salad’s name came from the French word vinaigrette which refers to a salad dressing made from vinegar, mustard and vegetable oil. Traditional soviet Vinaigrette salad is made from boiled beetroots, potatoes and carrots, canned green peas, pickles or sauerkraut and onion. The salad is dressed with salt, vegetable oil and vinegar to taste. There are different variations of the salad: with apples, pickled herring, boiled eggs, sometimes boiled meat. All the variations are delicious and healthy.
I’d like to share with you our family’s recipe for summer vinaigrette salad. My mom used to make it as soon spring beetroots, potatoes and carrots appeared on the market. First spring vegetables are much fresher and tenderer then fall ones, that is why the salad is so fantastic – light and sunny. We add cucumbers instead of pickles and add tomatoes also.
Highly recommend! Tastes best when eaten in the garden or on the verandah.
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Steps
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1
Done
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There are a few ways of cooking beetroots, carrots and potatoes for this salad. We used to boil them first and then peel and cut. Nowadays there are more convenient ways of cooking that don’t destroy vitamins in vegetables. I recommend you use a steam cooker – it will save your time and flavor and nutritive value of vegetables. |
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2
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To steam vegetables, first peel and cut them into 0.5-0.7 cm cubes. The steam cookers usually have a few layers. Place the beetroots in the lowest layer of the steam cooker to prevent the lower layers of vegetables from coloring. If your steam cooker has only one layer, cook the beetroots separately. The potatoes can be cooked together with the carrots. |
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3
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Set the timer for 25 min. Transfer the cooked vegetables into two separate bowls – the beetroots go into one, and the carrots and potatoes – in the other. Cover the bowls for the vegetables not to get dry and let them chill to room temperature. . |
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4
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Cut the cucumbers into 0.5 cm cubes. The cherry tomatoes cut into 4 equal parts. |
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5
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Dress in the following way. First dress the beetroots with sunflower oil for not to immediately color the carrots and potatoes. The oil creates a protective cover, so to say. |
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6
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. In a large bowl, mix together the potatoes, carrots, peas, cucumbers, spring onion and parsley. Dress with oil. Add the dressed beetroot and cherry tomatoes. Add salt and vinegar to taste. Add some more oil if needed. Mix carefully in order not to damage the tomatoes. How to serve: Serve immediately after dressing. The longer the salad will stand the more beetroot color the vegetables will gain and lose their pied summer allure. The dressed salad preserves its taste for a few hours. How to keep: The dressed salad is supposed to be served at once. You can keep the salad half-cooked: cooked potatoes and carrots and beetroots can be kept apart in the fridge for a few days. You should take them out beforehand so that they be at room temperature when served. Add and dress the remaining ingredients just before serving. |
