Olivier is a USSR-era staple salad, it's symbolic of celebrations, gatherings, the most desirable dish on a menu. After all, is there anything better than olivier leftovers next day, in a morning (of course if any left)?
If salads could merry, olivier would be beloved child of American potato salad and chicken salad (you decide which one is mom and which one would be dad :)). Sometimes child is mutant and has ham or bologna in place of actual chicken pieces but this does not make him less attractive (read - tasty).
I will mention all variations of the salad below, but actual recipe is very minimalistic and contains just ingredients necessary to make great tasting dish. Pea puree, I decided to make this time for garnishing, turned out to be great fun and very tasty addition to the salad.
Variations
- As I already said, you can use bologna, ham, salami, or even all together instead of chicken. In fact, to go back into my "meat-eating" days, I liked this variation more than chicken olivier.
- Some like to add boiled carrots (chopped of course). It adds another subtle taste layer to the salad.
- In real life we often use canned green peas instead of frozen - I still have hard time making preferences here:)
- Do not use canned potato for this salad - it would be way too lousy substitution.
- Store bought mayo works just fine (try to get the best brand though). But if you feel like making your own - just go for it!
- Use pickles that you would eat just as is. Do not try to use up pickles that are not very good in a first place (I like to use kosher baby dills).
- Add some fresh sweet onion for a punch if you like the idea (it is a legit version back there, in ex-USSR)
Taste Description
It is mildly tasting, although very addictive and filling, salad. You can pump up acidity by adding more pickles (or even pickle juice!). As always, great ingredients will give you the great result!
How to Serve
For the friends or family gathering, serve it in a pretty salad bowl. On my picture you see it served restaurant style, on the individual plate with pea puree and pickles on a side.
Olivier
5 potatoes, boiled unpeeled, then cooled, peeled and diced (about 0.3" x 0.3")
2 chicken breasts, cooked and diced
5 boiled eggs, diced
2 cups of frozen peas (or 1 can of canned one)
3-5 tbs mayonnaise
1 small jar of kosher baby dills, diced
salt to taste
black pepper to taste
- Just mix all ingredients together. Make sure that potato and eggs are cooled down before doing this.
- Season to taste. I like to add couple of tablespoons of liquid from baby dills (but it's not necessary at all!) - first, it allows me to use less mayo, second, it adds a little bit of acidity to the dish and a third, it make consistency of the salad more smooth.
- Enjoy! It will keep in your fridge for a two-three days surely, of course if not food-stealers are around :)
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IN PICTURES
..yes, it's 4 potatoes and 6 eggs on my pictures - you know, slight variations of quantities are allowed!
For myself, I've made Olivier version with crab meat instead of chicken, turned out very delicious.
To make pea puree, blend handful of fresh/frozen peas with a splash of light olive oil, tablespoon or so sherry vinegar and salt. My lovely immersion blender does a great job with this. Feel free to season puree your way but make sure you are not adding anything that will change it's beautiful bright green color and smooth consistency!
This is my crab meat (well, imitation of crab meat :)) olivier. I enjoyed it very much.
Wow, love you presentation, will use it next time to surprise my fends :)
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