Every once in awhile, I get a big craving for beets. The craving doesn’t hit me often, but when it does, I typically turn to my Vinegret (винегрет) recipe from The Ancestral Table. So without further ado, here is the text from the book:
Vinegret is the name of a Russian salad that is likely not of Russian origin, but rather borrowed from German or Scandinavian cuisine. In traditional Russian cuisine, salads were pretty rare. Vinegret is often cited as the first Russian salad, first mentioned in the 19th century.
Another Russian favorite is Olivier salad, which has a much more interesting history. It was invented by Lucien Olivier, a Belgian chef working in Moscow in the 1860s. The original recipe was a closely held secret and was never truly duplicated. Documents reveal that the salad likely included caviar, crawfish tails, aspic, and veal tongue. Over the years, these rare ingredients were replaced by common ones. Instructions for making Olivier Salad are also found below, as the method is similar.
Beet Salad - Vinegret (Gluten-free, Paleo, Primal, Whole30, Vegetarian, Vegan)
2 medium beets
2 medium potatoes, peeled
3 carrots
1/2 cup sauerkraut, drained
1/2 cup dill pickles, diced
1 tbsp olive oil, more to taste
1/2 green apple, diced
1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
salt to taste
1. Bring two pots of water to a boil. In one pot, gently boil the beets until they can be pierced with a fork, about 20 minutes; in the other, gently boil the potatoes until you can pierce with a knife with little resistance, about 10 minutes. Separately, steam the carrots until softened, about 8 minutes. Strain and rinse the vegetables and allow to cool. Once cool, peel and dice the beets into 1/2″ chunks, using rubber gloves if you have them. Dice the potatoes and carrots into 1/2″ chunks.
2. Combine the vegetables with the sauerkraut, dill pickles, oil, apple, and vinegar in a large stain-resistant bowl, and mix together with your hands or a large spoon until everything is bright red. Season with salt and olive oil to taste. This salad will keep for up to a week and tastes better the following day.
*** For Olivier salad, omit the beets, olive oil, apple, and vinegar; replace with 1/2 cup diced ham, 1/2 cup hard-boiled eggs, 1/2 cup cooked peas, 1/4 cup cooked crawfish tails, and 1/4 cup mayonnaise.
The Domestic Man 
This looks delicious!!! I LOVE beets & anything pickled!!!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
That picture made my mouth water! This salad is so delicious… I am Finnish and this salad is always a part of Christmas dinner. I make the process a little easier by using pickled beets. My mom’s dressing was a mixture of pickled beet juice and whipped cream. She made pretty pink rosettes with it, as many as there were people to be served (right before serving). If there ever was any leftovers, she would use them in the after-Christmas borscht soup.
P.S. We call it sallatti.
LikeLike
Now that I read the recipe again, I noticed one difference: we don’t use sauerkaut – I bet it would be good, though.
An yes, it is absolutely worth it to make this the day before, even two days. It just keeps getting better.
LikeLike
Russ, I don’t think Salad Olivier has sauerkraut in it.
LikeLike
Hi Jane, you’re right – it traditionally doesn’t contain sauerkraut. But in my recipe testing I found that I prefered to leave it in for a little extra zing!
In Russia, it is sometimes served this way, but usually the salad is labeled appropriately if it contains sauerkraut: “салат оливье с квашеной капустой” (Salad Olivier with Sauerkraut). Based on a cursory search, it only yielded about 115k google results (versus 700k for just “салат оливье”).
LikeLike