Salada russa — Portugal’s take on the Russian Olivier salad — is the creamy, diced-vegetable salad that no Portuguese summer table, barbecue or festa buffet is complete without. Ours adds tuna, because of course it does.
The formula: potatoes, carrots, green beans and peas, all diced small and cooked just tender, folded with egg and tuna into a lemony mustard-mayonnaise. Simple, nostalgic and dangerously scoopable.
It partners grilled fish and meats brilliantly, travels well, and — like all mayonnaise salads — tastes best after an hour in the fridge thinking about what it has become.
Salada Russa Recipe
Prep time: 10 minutes (plus cooling) · Cook time: 15 minutes · Total: about 40 minutes · Servings: 4 · Calories: ~116 per serving
Ingredients
- 3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
- 1 cup green beans, cut into small pieces
- ½ cup frozen peas
- 2 hard-boiled eggs, diced
- 1 can (5 oz) tuna in olive oil, drained
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Juice of ½ lemon
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- Boil the potatoes, carrots and green beans in salted water 8 to 10 minutes, until tender, adding the peas in the last 2 minutes.
- Drain and cool the vegetables completely.
- Combine the vegetables, diced eggs and flaked tuna in a big bowl.
- Whisk the mayonnaise, Dijon, olive oil and lemon juice; season.
- Fold the dressing through gently, transfer to a serving dish, and finish with parsley.
- Serve chilled or at room temperature.
Recipe Notes
- Cool vegetables completely before dressing — warm ones turn the mayo oily.
- Diced pickles or olives are common Portuguese additions.
- It holds a day in the fridge, and sandwiches made with leftovers are a known secret.
Enjoy our recipes? Add Maria’s Cookbook as a preferred source on Google to see more of our content in your search results.
