Ensaladilla Rusa - Spanish Potato Salad

Submitted by Annacia

"The name for potato salad in Spain is ensaladilla rusa, or Russian Salad. Why? It is said that a Russian invented the salad in the late XIX century. We don’t know what the original Russian salad was like, but the Spanish have made their own version and eat it as a tapa or a side dish. Many families even prepare home-made mayonnaise to dress it. From: Spanish Food"

 

• Ready In: 30hrs 20mins
• Ingredients: 7
• Serves: 8

ingredients

• 7 medium potatoes
• 2 roasted red peppers (bottled is fine)
• 1 (16 ounce) can peas and carrots, drained
• 2 hard-boiled eggs
• 1 (6 ounce) can tuna, drained
• 1 1⁄2 cups mayonnaise
• 4 -5 stalks white asparagus (to garnish) (optional)

directions

1. Scrub the potatoes to clean off any lose dirt and sand.
2. Pour water into a large pot, cover and bring to a boil on high heat.
3. Place potatoes in the pot and boil them with skins on until they are cooked, but not too soft.
4. Test the doneness by pricking with a fork to make sure they are cooked, but still firm. Don’t overcook the potatoes or when mixing the salad, you’ll end up with mashed potatoes!
5. Hard boil the eggs.
6. Drain the water from the potato pot and add cold water to the pot, covering the potatoes.
7. Change every few minutes until the potatoes are cool enough to handle with your bare hands.
8. Refrigerate for a few minutes to cool further.
9. Put approximately 1 1/2 cups of mayonnaise into a bowl.
10. Slice 1 of the roasted pepper into strips about 1/3 inch wide, then cut into smaller pieces and add to bowl.
11. Drain tuna thoroughly, then crumble with a fork and add to bowl.
12. Drain carrots and peas and add to bowl.
13. Peel 1 egg, chop and add to bowl.
14. Mix all ingredients together.
15. Add the mayonnaise mixture to the potatoes and mix thoroughly.
16. If necessary, add more mayonnaise.
17. Smooth top of potato salad, preparing for decoration.
18. Slice remaining red pepper into thin strips and arrange on top of salad.
19. Drain the white asparagus and slice hard-boiled eggs carefully. Use both to decorate the salad.

Reviews

[Sharon123]

A nice salad that I enjoyed. I enjoyed the peas and carrots in the salad. This made a great light supper. Thanks! Made for Photo tag.

 

[Debbwl]

A very different kind of potato salad. Made using fresh peas and carrots. After trying added some onion and black pepper. Love all the colors in this salad. Great one dish meal that can be made in the morning for those hot summer nights. Thanks for the post.

 

[CiaoBella]

Have loved this salad since I was a child. Good way to get the veggies in, and is so colorful it makes for a great table presentation! For an equally delicious and lighter version, I use olive oil and vinegar for the dressing, in place of the mayonnaise. Also, the potatoes should be chopped into regular potato salad-sized potatoes, since that instruction is left out of the recipe. Wonderful post!