This salad has multiple names and ways of doing it. In Romanian it’s called “salade de beouf” (beef salad) but don’t get fooled: there is normally no beef inside because well, we don’t like it. It actually pairs better with pork than beef. Searching online, the closest I could find in terms of recipes is Salad Russe.
Other comments: I like to make mayonnaise from scratch, so you have the recipe below, but you can use purchased mayonnaise for convenience.
You don’t have to add the egg whites. I hate them, but cut in super small pieces you don’t actually taste them much. Also, if you like green peas, you can add as well, just make sure they are pre-cooked.
Ingredients
carrots & potatoes (1:1 ratio)
pickles (use cornichon made with garlic)
pickled red peppers
3 eggs room temperature
1L sunflower oil
1-2 lemons
dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste
optional: green peas (from can)
Instructions
Mayonnaise
Hard boil 2 eggs. Once cooled down, peel the eggs and remove the egg yolks and put them in a metal bowl to fully cool. If they are warm, your mayonnaise won’t stick together. Don’t discard the whites, you can use them later.
Add a fresh egg yolk, then stir until becomes creamy.
Add oil (not more than 1 tbsp at a time) and stir properly after each time you add oil. Make sure you stir in the same direction all the time, otherwise your mayonnaise will break. If it does, put a bit of lemon juice in the mayonnaise and stir. It will start to become creamy again.
Keep adding oil until you have the desired quantity. Add some lemon juice to make it a bit sour and to give to the mayonnaise your desired taste.
Main salad
Peel the carrots and put them to boil. Wash the potatoes and put them to boil (peel on) in a separate pot. Both carrots and potatoes should be cooked when they can pierced with a fork. Drain the hot water and let the veggies.
The potatoes should be cooled enough to be able to peel them without burning your hands. If they are completely cooled, it’s more complicated to peel them.
Cut the carrots, potatoes and egg whites in small cubes.
Cut about 5-6 pickles and same amount of pickled peppers. Squeeze them in your hand to remove the juice, before adding them to the veggies bowl.
Add mayonnaise to bowl, 1-2 tbsp dijon mustard, salt and pepper and mix properly. Taste, then add more of each to your liking. If it’s not sour enough, cut more pickles and add them to the veggies mix until you get a well balanced salad (not too sweet, not too sour).
You can serve it as an appetizer, or as a meal with some pork cooked in the oven.
Bon appétit.
My journey in the kitchen 