Some people call this salad "Russian", but this is not entirely correct, because after 30+ years since the collapse of the USSR, this dish remains popular on the territory of all 15 former Soviet republics, from the Baltic to Central Asia, not only in Russia.
Culinary historians claim that this dish came to the Russian Empire in the middle of the 19th century, either from Sweden or Norway. One way or another, this salad remains an indispensable attribute of a family feast for a birthday, wedding or New Year, which are the most serious occasions in EX-USSR to get together in a big company and eat a lot.
Perhaps the reason for the popularity of this dish is also the fact that it is quite simple to prepare, and the ingredients are available for any wallet even in the most difficult times.
So the INGREDIENTS (for 4 servings):
2 lightly salted herring fillet
3 potatoes
3 carrots
2 beets
2 eggs
1 onion
2 apples
200 g mayonnaise
2 stalks of green onions
salt, ground black pepper
Step 1
Wash potatoes, carrots and beets thoroughly and, without peeling, boil until tender. Hard boil the eggs. Then let everything cool down.
Step 2
Grate beets, potatoes and carrots separately on a coarse grater.
Step 3
Cut the herring fillet into small pieces. Peel the onion and chop finely. Peel and mash the eggs with a fork or grate them like vegetables.
Step 4
Peel apples and cut into quarters. Remove the core with seeds. Grate.
Step 5
Let's start laying out the ingredients. You can use a form with sides or just a large plate with a flat bottom. The first layer is herring, the second is onions. Lubricate with mayonnaise. Then lay out the potatoes, apples, beets and carrots. Each layer is a little salt, pepper and grease with mayonnaise too.
Step 6
Sprinkle chopped eggs on top. Smooth out the sides and top of the salad with a spatula.
Step 7
Wash the green onion stalks and cut into small rings. Sprinkle them over the top and put the dish in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
Note
If you don't like green onions, you can substitute parsley for them, or skip the last step altogether.
In addition, only the position of the herring is important: the fish layer is always at the bottom, and as for other ingredients, you can experiment a little with the order of the layers.
The egg also does not have to be at the top, it can be in the middle, then it is customary to leave beets at the top, thickly greased with mayonnaise.
Either way, it will be delicious!
source of photos and main text in Russian: gastronom.ru