Ingrid's Insalata Russa
This salad is a delicious and easy-to-make dish that is perfect for any occasion. It is made with a variety of vegetables, including potatoes, carrots, peas, and eggs, and is seasoned with salt, sour cream, and mayonnaise.
This salad is a delicious and easy-to-make dish that is perfect for any occasion. It is made with a variety of vegetables, including potatoes, carrots, peas, and eggs, and is seasoned with salt, sour cream, and mayonnaise.
- Carbohydrate 35.90206875 g
- Cholesterol 141.0856125 mg
- Fat 17.006425 g
- Fiber 5.12118756976165 g
- Protein 13.52383875 g
- Saturated Fat 5.9729331625 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (299g)
- Sodium 849.811375 mg
- Sugar 30.7808811802384 g
- Trans Fat 2.6182636375 g
- Calories 349 calories
Step-by-step
- Place unpeeled potatoes and carrots in a pot and cover them with water. Bring to a boil and cook about 20 minutes until tender but not too soft.
- Put the frozen peas in a colander and place the cooked potatoes on top to assist in the thawing process.
- Peel and dice carrots and potatoes once cooled and place in a large bowl along with the peas, diced eggs, gherkins and spam. Season with salt. Add equal parts of sour cream and mayonnaise a little at a time until desired wetness. Serve chilled.
Starchy root vegetables absorb lipids and aqueous binders differently depending on their internal temperature during initial mixing. Boiling potatoes and carrots whole in their skins prevents waterlogging, which otherwise dilutes the mayonnaise and sour cream emulsion. Cook the tubers until a paring knife slides to the center with slight resistance, exactly twenty minutes in rolling water. Overcooking converts the pectin into mush, destroying the necessary structural integrity for dicing.
Cold storage requires deliberate management due to the dairy and egg components. This salad holds safely in the refrigerator for up to three days when sealed in an airtight glass container. Freezing ruins the emulsion completely. Ice crystals puncture the cell walls of the thawed potatoes and rupture the mayonnaise base, releasing trapped water and turning the mixture into a grainy liquid. Always thaw frozen peas thoroughly and drain excess moisture in a colander before combining them with the root vegetables to prevent unwanted dilution.
Flavor development improves over several hours in the chill chest. Salt draws out small amounts of moisture from the gherkins and diced meat, seasoning the surrounding starchy matrix through osmosis. Equal parts sour cream and mayonnaise balance acidity and richness, but additions should occur gradually until the mixture coats the back of a spoon without pooling at the base of the bowl.
