Taste happiness

Passport & Plate - Herring under fur coat (Russian layered salad)

Russian Federation | Monday, March 3, 2014 | 5 photos

Ingredients
3 Potatoes
2 Eggs
3 Carrots
2 Beetroots
1 Onion
Salted herring – 300 gr
Mayonnaise – 200 gr
+ 1 big plate

 

How to prepare this recipe
1. Boil beetroot, carrots, potatoes and eggs till they’re ready.
2. Chop onions into small pieces.
3. Grate beetroot, carrots and potatoes into separate bowls.
4. Slice eggs as small as possible
5. Chop or dice herring neatly
6. Take your big plate
7. Spread out half of your grated beetroot on the plate.
8. Cover it with a thin layer of mayonnaise.
9. Put a half of grated carrots on it.
10. Cover it with a layer of mayonnaise.
11. Lay out half of your potatoes.
12. Cover with mayonnaise.
13. Put some chopped onion.
14. Then put out all your diced herring.
15. Cover it with the rest of onion.
16. After that repeat all the layers backwards: potatoes >mayonnaise>carrots>mayonnaise.
17. As the last layer spread out the rest of your beetroot so as it completely covered the surface of the salad.
18. Add some mayonnaise to make it more glued.
19. Decorate with a parsley or fennel sprig.
20. Give it some time to chill and get soaked in the fridge.
21. Serve with some brown bread.
22. Bon appetit!

 

The story behind this recipe
Let me take you down the memory lane. Imagine you’re a child again. You’re waking up on New Year’s eve. You’re smiling because you can feel the festive cheer all over the house. You’re sneaking out of bed still in your PJ’s and trying to find your parents. Obviously, they’re in the kitchen where everything is boiling, frying, roasting, chopping and steaming. The sweet smell of beetroot is tickling your nose. And thus you know for sure that tonight is going to be very special. In my family, usually the man was in charge of layered salad. Why so? Because it takes lots of patience but not so much culinary skills to make it. I’ll never forget my father grating the vegetables in his pensive way.
When your job as a kid to lay the table is done, you start feeling the tummy-rumbling. With adorable puppy eyes you confront your mother in a humble hope for a festive snack. Mum gets puzzled. The main courses like chicken or roast are still in the oven, all the salads aren’t finished yet. But to feed her poor child, mother consents to sacrifice “herring under fur coat”. It’s already been in the fridge for several hours, it’s moistured, it’s fresh and creamy. You’re cracking the slice with your little fork and slowly taking the first bite. Perrrrrfect!
Things like that are more precious than gifts for they live in your memory forever after. It’s the taste of my childhood and every now and then when I want to feel like home again, I cook this layered salad.