Vinegret Salad
This salad is made of vegetables, traditionally stored in autumn to be consumed during winter: potatoes, beets, carrots, pickles and sauerkraut. One can’t do without the vinegret during Nativity Fast, Advent and Lent.
Servings: 4 to 6
2 potatoes
2 carrots
2 small мs
2 pickles
150 gr. (5.3 oz) canned green peas
4 tablespoons of vegetable oil
1 teaspoon of salt
Why the name of this traditional Russian salad (Vinegret) is pronounced exactly like the original name of a French dressing (Vinaigrette) is a mystery to me. There are many wild theories about its origins on the Internet, but my guess is that a chef in some Russian tavern decided to show off by giving a fancy name to a simple dish. The foreign word not only survived, it became common. What a vinegret – that’s what Russians usually say about a mixture of seemingly incompatible things – just like this salad, which contains boiled, pickled and salted vegetables. The great thing about vinegret, apart from being one of Russia's favorites, is that it also happens to be a lenten salad. This salad is made of vegetables, traditionally stored in autumn to be consumed during winter: potatoes, beets, carrots, pickles and sauerkraut. One can’t do without the vinegret during Nativity Fast, Advent and Lent.
The salad is rather easy to make.
Place unpeeled potatoes, beets and carrots into a saucepan. Pour in cold water, enough to cover the vegetables.
Add salt during boiling, so you won’t have to add it to the salad afterwards.
Once water comes to boil, note the time. Let the water boil for 20 minutes, then take potatoes out. In another 15 minutes remove carrots and continue cooking beets.
Beets should be fully covered with water at all times, so add more water to the pot if necessary. Cook beets for 25 more minutes after removing carrots, then get the pan off the stove and pour water out.
When the vegetables cool down, use a knife with thin sharp blade to peel them.
Dice beets into small cubes, add vegetable oil and toss well.
Dice potatoes, carrots and pickles into small cubes and put them in a separate bowl.
Add green peas.
Toss the vegetables thoroughly.
Mix beets with other vegetables right before serving. If you do it in advance, beets will give off their burgundy color and stain other vegetables.
This salad can be served as a separate meal or as a side dish with meat.
