Vinaigrette Salad
Russian beetroot salad: cooked beetroot, potatoes, carrots, sauerkraut and pickles diced small and dressed with sunflower oil and vinegar. Earthy, sour, sweet, dressed simply; the colour-bleed of beetroot through everything makes it unmistakable. Eats cold from the fridge for days.
Overview
Beetroot, potatoes and carrots boil in their skins. Once cool, they're peeled and diced into 1 cm cubes. Sauerkraut is squeezed dry; pickled cucumbers are diced; spring onions and dill chopped. Everything tosses with sunflower oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Best after a few hours' rest in the fridge.
Ingredients
- 3 beetroots (medium, around 400 g)
- 3 potatoes (medium, around 500 g)
- 2 carrots (medium)
- 200 g sauerkraut
- 3 dill pickles (around 150 g)
- 400 g tin red kidney beans (drained) or 200 g cooked chickpeas
- 5 spring onions (sliced)
- 4 tablespoons sunflower oil (or other neutral oil)
- 2 tablespoons cider vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
- 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- Black pepper
- A small bunch of dill (chopped)
Method
Stage 1 - Boil the vegetables
- Place the beetroots in one pan, the potatoes in another, and the carrots in a third (or share with the carrots and potatoes if your beetroots are small).
- Cover with cold water; bring to the boil; salt lightly.
- Beetroot: 30-45 minutes until a knife slides through.
- Potatoes: 18-22 minutes until tender.
- Carrots: 15-18 minutes until tender.
- Drain each; cool fully.
Stage 2 - Prep the rest
- Peel and dice the cooled beetroot, potatoes and carrots into 1 cm cubes (wear gloves for the beetroot if you mind the staining).
- Squeeze the sauerkraut hard to remove excess liquid; chop roughly.
- Dice the pickles to match.
Stage 3 - Combine
- Toss everything together in a large bowl with the spring onions, kidney beans, sunflower oil, vinegar, salt and black pepper.
- Stir in half the dill.
Stage 4 - Rest
- Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour; ideally 3-4. The flavours meld; the beetroot tints everything pink-purple.
Stage 5 - Serve
- Top with the remaining dill.
- Eat cold straight from the fridge with rye bread.
Notes
- Cook the vegetables separately: They cook at very different rates; combined, the potatoes go to mush before the beetroot is done.
- Beetroot bleeding: Add it last and toss gently if you want to keep some non-pink pieces; otherwise it's part of the look.
- Sauerkraut: Authentic; gives the salad's acid backbone. If you can't find it, increase the pickles and vinegar.
Storage
- Keeps 4 days refrigerated; the dressing soaks in further.
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