Skip to content
Salads

Insalata Russa (Italian Russian Salad)

Insalata russa is a dish of diced boiled vegetables mixed with mayonnaise, served as an appetizer or side dish over the Christmas holidays.
Recipe Insalata Russa (Italian Russian Salad)
  • Difficulty Easy
  • Preparation 30 minutes
  • Cooking 15 minutes
  • Servings for 6 people

Insalata Russa (Russian salad), a dish made mainly of diced boiled vegetables mixed with Mayonnaise, is served as a cold appetizer or side dish all year round, but it is mostly made for the Christmas holidays and the New Year’s Eve dinner.

The Russian Salad Recipe is much loved, although there is no single Original Russian Salad Recipe, since it varies a lot from country to country and even from region to region. Among the most popular versions are Piedmontese Russian Salad, also known as Russian Salad with Tuna, where chopped hard-boiled eggs and canned tuna are added to the vegetables and mayonnaise, and Russian Salad with Eggs, where only hard-boiled eggs are added.

The one we’re sharing is the most widespread version, the one most often thought of as the Original Russian Salad, a Euro-Asian dish that has been enjoyed around the world for centuries. Consider that back in the 1700s the nobles of Liguria already knew it as Insalata Genovese (Genoese salad).

Over the years, as tastes and needs have changed, other versions of Russian salad have developed, such as the Vegan Russian Salad Recipe, which can be made with hardly any changes other than using Vegan Mayonnaise.

Ingredients for 6 people

Copy Ingredients List
Open in App

Method

  1. To make the Russian salad, start by washing all the vegetables under running water, then peel them with a vegetable peeler and finally dice the potatoes and carrots. Cook the potatoes in a covered pot (10 minutes); after 3 minutes add the carrots too, and after 6 minutes add the peas as well. Lift out the vegetables with a slotted spoon and let them cool. Once the vegetables are ready and have cooled, gather them in a large bowl and season with oil, vinegar and salt.
    How to make Italian Russian salad, photo 3
    How to make Italian Russian salad, photo 4
  2. When the vegetables have cooled completely, put them in a bowl, chop the gherkins into small pieces, add them to the vegetables and mix well.
    How to make Italian Russian salad, photo 5
    How to make Italian Russian salad, photo 6
  3. Now make the mayonnaise: put the vegetable oil, the egg, the lemon juice and a pinch of salt in the jar of an immersion blender and insert the blender. Moving it gently up and down, blend until the mayonnaise is nice and thick.
    How to make Italian Russian salad, photo 1
    How to make Italian Russian salad, photo 2
  4. Add a few spoonfuls of mayonnaise to the vegetables, mix well and add more mayonnaise if needed.
    How to make Italian Russian salad, photo 8
    How to make Italian Russian salad, photo 9
  5. When you have the ratio of mayonnaise to vegetables you like best, put everything in the fridge and let it rest for about an hour so the sauce absorbs the flavors and everything chills further. After the resting time, your homemade Russian salad is ready to serve and enjoy. Finally, remember to download our App with exclusive content and fewer ads!
    Italian Russian salad, photo 2

Variations and Alternatives

If you like, you can decorate your Russian salad with slices of hard-boiled egg, or dice the eggs and add them to the other ingredients. You can also mix the mayonnaise with flaked tuna and use this tuna sauce to bind all the ingredients.

Tips

For a perfect Russian salad, it’s important to cut all the vegetables to the same size, so the flavors are balanced and your salad looks more even.

For a Quick Russian Salad, we recommend using a ready-made mix of frozen vegetables, which you can find in stores. Just blanch the still-frozen vegetables for a few seconds in plenty of hot water, then let them cool. Your Russian salad will taste the same as one made with fresh vegetables.

Storage

You can keep the Russian salad in the fridge for a couple of days in an airtight container.

Comments