White Salad

Although I knew this before, ever since I began sharing recipes on this blog, I have started paying more attention and notice that the food that we call purely regional, i.e. Lithuanian or Eastern European, is in some ways similar to the food from many other countries. Like the Lithuanian fried bread recipe that I shared a couple of weeks ago, which is a different twist on the familiar Italian garlic bread. True, there are recipes that utilize products that are very region dependent. For example, I cannot imagine traditional Lithuanian cuisine with feta cheese or olives (two things I love!:). Mostly because olives do not grow in Lithuania and feta cheese is not something our ancestors made.

While I plan on making a section on foods that I truly consider Lithuanian, today’s recipe is again, a twist on something many people already know. In America, it’s called potato salad. In Lithuania, it is called White Salad. And my friends from Russia call it Salad Olivier.

This salad is a wonderful appetizer. If you go to a Lithuanian party, you are almost certain to be treated to it. I remember when I was younger, I was the designated “White Salad preparer”. According to my mom, it tasted better when I made the salad because I cut the ingredients into neater and smaller pieces than her… Now I realize that she probably had so many things to do before a party that she was happy someone could take the preparation of one dish off her hands:) The funny thing is that after all these years of making the salad, I had to think hard about the quantities of the ingredients when I decided to write the recipe down!  I had made it so many times that have gotten used to just winging it. Anyway, below is the classic recipe and yes, I did take note of how many ingredients should be used when I was making it this time:)

So are you ready for the White Salad, a.k.a potato salad, a.k.a. Salad Olivier?

Here goes!

Ingredients

3 potatoes, cooked with skins

3 carrots, cooked with skins

6 pickles, diced

4 boiled eggs

1 can of peas, or half a bag of frozen peas

salt and pepper, to taste

dill, optional

mayonnaise, 2-3 tablespoons

Preparation

1. Cut potatoes into halves or quarters, cut carrots at least in half and boil them with skins.  It’s very important not to peel them before because otherwise they will crumble.

2. Boil 4 eggs

3. After the potatoes, carrots and eggs are cooked, wait for them to cool. This might be a good time to heat frozen peas, if you are using them frozen and not in a can. I usually steam them for a few minutes.

4. When the potatoes and carrots are no longer too hot to touch,  peel the skins off.

Now you are ready for fun:)

5. Cut potatoes, carrots, pickles and eggs into small pieces and place them in a large bowl. Add peas and some dill. Mix everything thoroughly.

6. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

7. Mix in mayonnaise.***

8. Enjoy!

***There are many variations as to what type of dressing to use. Some people mix mayonnaise with sour cream. I have tried it with ranch dressing and dill dressing and it tasted great. Now that you have the basics of this popular salad, feel free to experiment. And, of course, don’t hesitate and share your discoveries!:)

Questions:

What is your go-to holiday/party recipe?

What would you add to this salad?