“ENSALADILLA RUSA” – POTATO SALAD WITH MIXED VEGETABLES, SEAFOOD AND HOMEMADE GARLIC MAYONNAISE

Today we are going to start sharing our recipes in English for our English speaking friends and for everyone around the world who would love to learn to cook good recipes from our area, Andalusia, Spain, ... ! Today we are sharing "Ensaladilla Rusa" - Potato Salad with mixed vegetables, seafood and home made garlic mayonaisse :-) 

It’s one of the most common dishes in many Spanish tapas bars. Here in the province of Cadiz and also in Seville, we add boiled shrimp and hard boiled eggs to it and we eat it with crunchy little breadsticks called “picos”.

Ensaladilla Rusa has its roots in Moscow, Russia. It was there that Belgian chef Lucien Olivier invented this classy version of a potato salad, while working in the exclusive Hermitage Restaurant.

In Spain, potatoes, peas, and carrots are almost always present, and it is typical to add tuna as well.

This is the recipe the way we cook it at home, really delicious :-) 

Difficulty: low
Preparation Time: 45 minutes
Serves: 4 people

INGREDIENTS:

* 4 medium new potatoes, peeled and cut into small dices

* 1 1/4 Cups - 250 grs. homemade mayonnaise (recipe below)

* 2 hard boiled eggs, peeled and diced

* 2 carrots cut into small dices

* 1 can cooked peas, drained (approx. 1 cup - 100 grs.)

* 1/2 pound - 1/4 kg small shrimp

* 4 large shrimp to decorate

* 2 3 oz. - 85 gram cans tuna fish in olive oil, drained

* 6 imitation crab sticks (surimi) cut into dices

* 1 small jar red sweet Peppers, drained and cut into slices

* Some green olives

WAY OF COOKING:

* First we are going to boil the eggs during 12 to 15 minutes.  Peel, rinse under cold water and set aside to cool.

* Now we are going to boil the small and large unshelled shrimp in abundant boiling water with some salt for 3 or 4 minutes.

* Remove the shrimp from the broth; retain the broth to boil the potatoes and carrots.  Set aside the small shrimp to cool, then peel and dice.  Set aside the large shrimp to garnish the salad.

* We are going to use this broth to boil the diced potatoes and carrots so that they get the taste of seafood. Boil for 15 minutes (test for doneness and cook more as needed). Once they are cooked we drain them and let them cool down.

* We are going to put the potatoes and carrots in a bowl, and then add all the following ingredients: the diced shrimp, the peas, the hard-boiled eggs chopped, four chopped crab sticks, the shredded tuna fish, the olives and half of the sweet red Peppers cut into small slices.

* We mix everything with care and then we add the homemade mayonnaise.

* You can plate the individual salads using small food ring molds.  Just put the food mold on a plate, then fill it up with the salad and then on top you decorate them with olives, the remaining crab sticks and the rest of the sweet red peppers.

* Then you remove the mold and you will see how nice the salad looks, like in the picture.

* Don’t forget to add the Large Shrimp on the side of the Ensaladilla Rusa, when served at the table.

MAYONNAISE SAUCE WITH GARLIC

This is the recipe for the homemade mayonnaise sauce, and we have added some garlic to it, delicious :-) It is very easy to make so once you make it and the most important, you try it, you will never ever buy it from the shop.

INGREDIENTS:

* 1 egg

* 1 cup + 1 Tablespoon (250 ml) olive oil

* The juice of half lemon

* Salt

* Half a clove of garlic, minced

WAY OF COOKING:

* In the electric hand blender container we are going to add the egg.

* Then we add the oil, the half a clove of garlic, some salt and the lemon juice.

* We insert the hand blender to the bottom and begin to blend; slowly lifting the blender and you will see how the mayonnaise emulsifies and thickens. If you see it is very liquid you should add some more oil.

* And what happens if the mayonnaise goes wrong? Easy solution, we put another yolk into a different container, blend it and then we add gradually and slowly the mayonnaise batch from before, taking care to stir whenever you add another bit. If it is a bit thick, you can lighten it by adding a few drops of lemon juice.

We would love to have your opinions about this and the previous recipes published already :-)

Please feel free to contact us via email: pilaraprendiendoacocinar@gmail.com and let us know about your impressions.

Good night and this will be the first one of many good homemade recipes in English, just for you :-)