Olivier salad (Russian potato salad)
Tender potatoes, carrots, peas, ham, eggs and pickles in a creamy dressing, the potato salad that anchors every holiday table from Moscow to Warsaw.
- 100 min total
- 30 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 6
- About $1.77 a serving
- 360 calories
- Good the next day
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. Whatever’s left keeps for tomorrow.
Ingredients
For 6 servings.
- 1½ lb Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch dice
- 2 carrots, peeled and cut into ½-inch dice
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 8 oz diced cooked ham
- 3 dill pickles, diced
- 3 green onions, thinly sliced
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped (optional)
From your pantry
- 1½ tsp salt, divided
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Each serving has about 360 calories, 15 g protein, 27 g carbs and 21 g fat, and costs about $1.77 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No Yukon Gold potatoes? Russet potatoes or red potatoes work.
- No frozen peas? Frozen mixed vegetables work.
- No green onions? Chives work.
- No sour cream? Plain Greek yogurt works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Put the potatoes and carrots in a pot, cover with cold water by an inch, add 1 teaspoon salt and on high.
Dice. Dicing means cutting food into small, even cubes, usually a quarter to half an inch across. Pieces the same size cook at the same speed, so nothing burns while the rest catches up.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are little cubes about the size of a chickpea, and they all look close to the same.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
At the same time, put the eggs in a , cover with cold water and on high. Turn off the heat, cover and leave them 12 minutes.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heatTimer: 12 min
Food safety: For the safest eggs, cook until the whites are fully set and the yolks begin to thicken. Dishes made with eggs are done at 160°F.
Turn the potatoes to medium and 6 to 8 minutes, until a knife slides in easily. Tip in the peas for the last minute.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Medium heatTimer: 7 min
Dolly’s tip: Check early. Small cubes go from tender to mushy fast, and you want them to hold their shape.the vegetables and spread them on a to cool for 15 minutes. Move the eggs into cold water.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
Sheet pan. A sheet pan is a flat metal baking tray with a low rim all the way around. The rim catches juices, and the wide surface lets food spread out and brown.
How you’ll know: Everything fits in one layer with a little space between the pieces.
Timer: 15 min
the pickles, the green onions, and and dice the eggs.
Dice. Dicing means cutting food into small, even cubes, usually a quarter to half an inch across. Pieces the same size cook at the same speed, so nothing burns while the rest catches up.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are little cubes about the size of a chickpea, and they all look close to the same.
Thinly slice. Thinly slicing means cutting slices about an eighth of an inch thick, roughly two coins stacked. Thin slices cook in seconds and soften fast, which quick dishes need.
How you’ll know: A slice bends a little when you hold it by one edge, and slow, steady cuts beat fast ones.
Peel. Peeling means removing the skin with a vegetable peeler or a small knife. It takes off tough or bitter skins, though potato and carrot skins are fine to leave on unless the recipe insists.
How you’ll know: The color underneath is even all over, with no patches of skin left behind.
In a big bowl, the mayonnaise, sour cream, mustard, pepper, the rest of the salt and 2 tablespoons of pickle juice.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Add the cooled vegetables, ham, eggs, pickles and green onions and gently until everything is coated.
Fold. Folding means mixing gently by scooping from the bottom and turning it over the top, instead of stirring hard. It keeps light mixtures airy and soft things like berries or herbs in one piece.
How you’ll know: You use slow, wide strokes and stop as soon as there are no streaks left.
Food safety: Rotisserie chicken, deli meat, canned tuna and cooked shrimp are already cooked. Keep them cold until you use them, and heat them until steaming hot if the recipe warms them.
Chill at least 1 hour, then scatter the dill over the top.
Timer: 60 min
Dolly’s tip: It keeps 3 days in the fridge and is best cold, straight from a container with an ice pack.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
When you host a dinner, Dollop builds the menu around your guests’ allergies, works out a cooking timeline back from when everyone sits down, and puts it all on one grocery list.
