Every traditional Spanish cookbook has an ensaladilla rusa recipe. This Russian potato salad is a beloved dish throughout Spain, and you'll understand why when you taste the tender veggies tossed in this creamy homemade dressing!
Looking for more Spanish salads? Make sure to try my recipes for ensalada mixta and patatas aliñadas (Spanish potato salad).
Introduction
Ensaladilla rusa--you either love it or hate it! Many Spanish tapas bars serve this delicious dish, but I especially enjoy eating it in Seville and Cadiz, where it's garnished with fresh shrimp and served with crunchy breadsticks (picos).
Back in the 1860s, Belgian chef Lucien Olivier crafted the original Russian potato salad at the Hermitage Restaurant in Moscow. Sadly, he never shared his secret recipe for his rich man's potato salad, but copycat versions arose.
Nowadays, this salad is enjoyed throughout the world, but it's especially loved in Spain, where it was called the Ensaladilla Nacional during the Spanish Civil War. The Spanish version typically includes potatoes, peas, carrots, and tuna, with southern variations also including shrimp and hard-boiled eggs.
Ingredients
Wondering what ingredients you need to make a batch of ensaladilla rusa? Here's a look at the key ingredients for this Spanish potato salad.
- Potatoes: Use a firm potato that's waxy, as it will hold together once boiled and won't turn into powder or mush.
- Beets: This is an optional ingredient, as it will turn the salad pink. I love the color and flavor they add!
- Sherry Vinegar: This adds a lovely tang and authentic Spanish flavor.
- Tuna or Shrimp: Depending upon your region and preferences, experiment with adding drained, canned tuna or boiled shrimp.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Ensaladilla Rusa
If you’d like to see the full ingredients and instructions, scroll to the bottom of the post for the printable recipe card.
- Wash the potatoes, cover with water, and bring the pot to a boil with a pinch of salt. Boil until they're fork tender. (image 1)
- Let the potatoes cool completely, then peel them and cut in cubes. (image 2)
- Cover the beets with cold water and add a squeeze of lemon juice or vinegar to prevent bleeding. Boil until tender, about 1 hour. (image 3)
- Rinse in cold water; the skin should come off easily. Cube the beets, slicing some thinly for decoration. (image 4)
- Peel the carrots and boil them until tender. (image 5)
- Run them under cold water, then cut into cubes. (image 6)
- Boil the green beans until tender, then cut into small pieces. (image 7)
- Boil the peas until cooked. (image 8)
- Peel the shrimp and boil them for 1-2 minutes, then drain and place them in ice water to stop the cooking. (image 9)
- Hard boil one of the eggs. (image 10)
- Beat the egg yolk with salt and vinegar. Slowly add the oil, whisking constantly until it's emulsified and the consistency of mayo. Reserve one-quarter of it for later. (image 11)
- Beat the egg white to stiff peaks, then mix the egg white into the rest of the mayo. This is clarified mayonnaise. (image 12)
- Mix half of the cooked veggies with the clarified mayo and place in a bowl. Mix the rest of the veggies with the plain mayo. (image 13)
- Decorate the salad with the veggies mixed with plain mayo. Top with the sliced beets, shrimp, and hard boiled eggs if desired. (image 14)
Recipe FAQs
This Russian potato salad originated in Moscow, Russia, where it was created at the Hermitage Restaurant by a Belgian chef named Lucien Olivier in the 1860s.
Ensaladilla rusa is called that because of its origins in Russia. It was first created by Belgian chef Lucien Oliver at the Hermitage Restaurant. Nowadays, it's served throughout the world, and has become a favorite national dish in Spain.
Ensaladilla rusa is made from a mixture of boiled vegetables, like potatoes, beets, green beans, and peas, combined with homemade mayo. Some of the mayo is mixed with stiffly whipped egg whites to make it clarified, and the salad is garnished with hard boiled egg, sliced beets, and boiled shrimp.
It will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3-5 days.
Serve
Enjoy this homemade ensaladilla rusa with crunchy breadsticks and crackers. This dish can be served anytime of year. In Spain, ensaladilla Rusa is typically served cold in the warmer months, while in Russia, it's part of Christmas dinner.
If you're looking for some tasty Spanish tapas to round out your meal, try these recipes for patatas bravas with bravas sauce, bacon wrapped dates, chorizo a la sidra, or Spanish garlic mushrooms. Serve with a cold glass of tinto verano for a summertime treat!
Expert Tips
- Want to make the best ensaladilla rusa? Make your own mayonnaise, as described in the recipe. If you are short on time, use a good-quality jarred variety.
- Be sure to add the oil slowly to the mayonnaise to prevent the mixture from splitting, beating quickly as you go. If it does split, add an extra egg yolk to re-emulsify it.
- Don't want the salad to turn pink? Serve the beets on the side.
- For a fancy, old-fashioned look, decorate the salad with thinly sliced beets, boiled shrimp, or quartered hard-boiled eggs.
Ensaladilla Rusa (Russian Potato Salad)
Ingredients
For the Salad
- 2 ¼ pounds waxy potatoes such as Yukon Gold or red
- 1 pound fresh carrots
- 1 pound fresh green beans cut into bite-sized pieces
- ½ pound fresh peas
- ½ pound fresh beets optional
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon capers
For the Mayonnaise Dressing
- 1 egg at room temperature
- â…” cup good-quality olive oil
- 1 splash sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
- salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
Optional Garnishes
- 1 can good-quality tuna
- 1 cup boiled shrimp
Instructions
Prepping the Vegetables
- Potatoes: Rinse and cover with cold water and a pinch of salt. Boil until fork tender, then let them cool completely. Remove the skin and cut into cubes.
- Beets: Cover with cold water, adding a little lemon juice or vinegar to prevent them from bleeding. Boil until tender, about an hour, then rinse under cold water and remove the skin. Thinly slice some of the beets for decoration if desired, then cube the rest.
- Carrots: Peel them and cover with cold water. Boil until tender, but not mushy. Run them under cold water to cool, then cut into cubes.
- Green Beans & Peas: Boil until they are tender and cooked.
- Shrimp: Add the raw shrimp to a pot of boiling water, then leave them in until they turn pink and float to the surface, about 1-2 minutes. Immediately remove them and place in an ice bath to cool.
- Hard-Boiled Egg: Boil an egg until it's hard-boiled; about 10 minutes. Chill it in an ice bath for 10 minutes, then peel and quarter lengthwise.
Making the Dressing
- Separate the large egg carefully so no yolk gets in the white.
- Place the egg yolk in a bowl, then add a pinch of salt and a dash of vinegar. Beat until combined, then slowly drizzle in the olive oil while beating quickly. Keep beating until the mixture is thickened. Set aside one-quarter of the mayo for later.
- Beat the reserved egg white to stiff peaks, then slowly add the egg white to the majority of the mayonnaise. This makes clarified mayonnaise.
Assembling the Salad
- Mix together half of the vegetables and tuna or shrimp (if using) with some of the clarified mayonnaise (the batch with the egg whites mixed in).
- Mix the rest of each vegetable with the regular mayonnaise, and decorate the top of the salad with little mountains of the different vegetables.
- Decorate with capers, the thinly sliced beets, hard boiled egg, and extra shrimp or tuna. Serve cold and enjoy!
Notes
- For the best flavor, make your own mayonnaise, as described in the recipe. If you are short on time, use a good-quality jarred variety.
- Be sure to add the oil slowly to the mayonnaise to prevent the mixture from splitting, beating quickly as you go. If it does split, add an extra egg yolk to re-emulsify it.
- Don't want the salad to turn pink? Serve the beets on the side.
- For a fancy, old-fashioned look, decorate the salad with thinly sliced beets, capers, boiled shrimp, or quartered hard-boiled eggs.
Nutrition
Photography by Giulia Verdinelli
Frank Gomez
I don’t think beets should go in. Never seen beets in any Spanish version and it turns the salad pink which is awful.
Lauren Aloise
I think you are right - although they may be traditional historically, you don't see them ever in Spain. And the pink is pretty awful. Amending!
Julie
While traditionally you will not see any beets in the Spanish version, I did actually have it with beets at a really good restaurant in Madrid and it was super good. I made a mental note to try it that way myself. So yes not traditional.. but even Spaniards are starting to experiment on traditional dishes!
Salad
True!
Alex
Same here. I went beyond the American mayo. I added cream sour, olive oil, lemon, raw garlic, oregano and pepper. Mixed all in my bullet...creamy dressing came which I pour over my vegetables. Mixed with my cleaned bared hands..
I know that it was delicious, because it was the first thing to be finished y my family.
Irina
1. all ingredients of Olivier salad are well known,
So, Olivier took:
• meat of two boiled grouse,
• one boiled veal tongue,
• added about 100 grams of black pressed caviar (do not substitute black granular caviar - spoil everything),
• 200 grams of fresh salad,
• 25 boiled crayfish or 1 can of lobster,
• half a jar of very small pickled cucumbers (pickles),
• half a jar of soybean Kabul is a kind of then-made soy paste paste (similar to the Yuzhny and Moskovsky sauces later produced in the USSR, which also contained soy hydrolyzate)
• two chopped fresh cucumbers,
• 100 grams of capers (prickly vegetable crop, in which the flower buds are pickled),
• finely chopped five hard-boiled eggs.
Filled with all this bourgeois delicacy Provencal sauce, which was supposed to be cooked in French vinegar, two fresh egg yolks and a pound (400 grams) of olive oil.
2. I’v never seen ensalada russ with beets .
Gina
Love this salad. How long can you keep it after making?
Lauren Aloise
Hi there! It really depends if you've made fresh mayonnaise or not. If so, 1-2 days. If not, 3-4 I'd say!
Little Cooking Tips
Excellent work Lauren! Like you mentioned above, in Russia this salad is called Olivier:)
No matter how it's named it's delicious, and also extremely popular here in Greece as well.
We love the fact that you made homemade mayo. The people who never tried it really have no idea what they're missing!
Excellent post!
Panos and Mirella
Lauren Aloise
Thank you! I know, it is so delicious!
Ula
funny as in Poland we call it "traditional salad" and serve it always at Christmas and Easter (well, we don't add capers, beets, nor tuna but some other veggies like parsley or celeriac)
Lauren Aloise
Funny how international it really is!
Kaley [Y Mucho Más]
I used to be scared of making mayonnaise, but now I do it all the time! I have a stick blender so I just add one egg, some salt, a squeeze of lemon juice, and start blending. Then I add the olive oil in a slow stream until the sound changes (this is how my mother-in-law taught me to do it) y nunca se me ha cortado!
I happen to be a big fan of ensaladilla rusa too, but some of the bar versions can be downright terrible! I always garnish it with olives too, mmmm.
MeghannG@HolaMatrimony
Interesting with the homemade mayo! When I learned to make ensaladilla rusa, my Spanish friend was insistent that I not use "crappy American mayonnaise" but this goes one step further. I know mayo freaks some people out, but I love all the mayo "salads" here - reminds me of southern cooking in the States!
Lauren Aloise
Yes, surprisingly a lot of people and restaurants make homemade mayo here, and I even have friends who take a bite and make a face when they say "it's not homemade"!
Alex
Same here. I went beyond the American mayo. I added cream sour, olive oil, lemon, raw garlic, oregano and pepper. Mixed all in my bullet...creamy dressing came which I pour over my vegetables. Mixed with my cleaned bared hands..
I know that it was delicious, because it was the first thing to be finished y my family.
Christine
Mmm! I love to put bonito in my Ensaladilla instead of tuna--so good!
Lauren Aloise
Mmm bonito sounds delicious!