Ensaladilla Rusa is a Spanish tapas dish that is a potato salad loaded with tasty additions. It's easy to make and a perfect addition to any tapas meal, picnics, summer parties and more.
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I'll be honest, in general I am not the biggest fan of potato salad. I know it is one of those things that many people love, but I often find it a bit plain and too heavily mayonnaise-loaded. This Spanish take on the theme, however, is one I grew to love when I lived in Spain and still very much enjoy.
Ensaladilla rusa origins
Ensaladilla Rusa translates as "little Russian salad". The name comes from the fact that it is a take on the Russian Olivier salad. The salad was created by Lucien Olivier in the 1860s at Moscow restaurant, the Hermitage and soon became a signature dish there.
Originally, the exact ingredients were secret and known only to the head chef. As a recipe emerged, it included relatively rare or expensive ingredients at the time like caviar, crayfish and cornichons.
Over time, the recipe has evolved to use more everyday ingredients and also has different versions in different places. The Peruvian version of ensalada Rusa, for example, is usually pretty simple with potatoes, carrots and peas but also has a bright color from beets. The Persian salad Olivieh includes eggs, pickled cucumbers, carrots and peas.
In Spain, it has become a firm favorite in tapas bars and at home. You will find a few variations, but most include at least potato, carrot, peas and mayonnaise. Many also include tuna, then you might find some onion, olives and/or red pepper as well.
Tips for preparing this potato salad
This salad comes together very easily, and makes use of easy to find ingredients. Most don't need a lot of preparation, if any, as well, plus you can make things a little easier for yourself in part, too.
Top tip: don't overcook the potatoes
The main part that you need to take a little care on is the potatoes - you want to just cook the potatoes rather than cook them too soft.
If they are cooked too long, they take in more water and so don't taste quite as good. But more importantly, they may break up as you mix them with the other ingredients. This gives the wrong texture for the salad.
Use either a more waxy potato or at least somewhere in the middle rather than a starchy potato. Starchy potatoes break up more easily so are great for mashing, but that's not what you want here. So use new potatoes, or a general potato like yellow or red.
I prefer to use fresh carrot and dice it, as I prefer the texture and flavor, but you can also use ready diced frozen carrot. Frozen peas are fine, or fresh if you have them. With fresh carrots and peas, you will want to cook them either separately or in the last few minutes with the potatoes, frozen need the briefest or time. You could use canned vegetables, but I don't find the texture or flavor nearly as good.
Use a good mayonnaise for this, as you are going to taste it. You can also use aioli, ie garlic mayonnaise, as you may find used in Spain.
One of the great things about this salad is that you can prepare it ahead, making it great for entertaining as you can simply bring it out of the fridge when you need it. Just be sure to keep it covered and chilled until needed.
Ensaladilla rusa is an easy, classic Spanish dish that's just as at home with other tapas as it is in place of your typical potato salad at a potluck. It's easy to make, with a tasty mix of ingredients. Comforting and flavorful at the same time, and perfect for so many occasions.
Try these other classic Spanish tapas dishes:
- Chorizo al vino tinto - chorizo in red wine (super easy and tasty)
- Tortilla española - a classic thick Spanish potato omelette
- Gambas al ajillo - shrimp with garlic
- Pimientos de Padrón - blistered Padron peppers (so incredibly quick and delicious to snack on)
- Plus get more Spanish recipes in the archives.
Ensaladilla Rusa - Spanish potato salad
Ingredients
- 12 oz potatoes recommend waxy, or everyday, not floury
- 4 oz carrots
- ½ cup peas (fresh or frozen)
- ¼ red onion (¼ onion giving approx ⅓ cup)
- 5 oz canned tuna (5oz is 1 small can/tin), good quality, ideally in oil
- ¼ cup mayonnaise homemade if possible, or at least good quality
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon pepper approx, to taste
- ½ teaspoon red wine vinegar optional
Instructions
- Cut the potatoes in half and place them in a pot with plenty of cold water and a little salt. Bring to a boil and cook until just cooked through (you want them on the firm side rather than overcooked), around 10 - 15 minutes though timing will depend on size of chunks. Drain and allow to cool.
- While potatoes are cooking, peel and cut the carrot into chunks. Steam or boil until cooked through, around 8 - 10 minutes (depending on size of pieces). If using fresh peas, add them either in with carrots if boiling, or in water under steamer if steaming, around 5 - 6 minutes before end of cooking. If using frozen, add them around 2 - 3 minutes before the end. In both cases, you want them just cooked.
- Drain the carrots and peas and set aside. Cut the carrots into a small dice (if you prefer, you can dice before cooking but I find it easier to cut after so less small pieces to cook, though they will cook a bit faster if cut first).
- Finely dice the red onion and drain the tuna. Peel and chop the cooled potato into a medium-small dice.
- Combine the potato, carrot, peas, tuna and onion in a bowl. Add the mayonnaise and oil. Add some ground black pepper and a little vinegar, if using. Mix everything together so well combined, but gently (try to fold together) so that you don't break up the potatoes too much. Serve at room temperature or chilled (if not using straight away, store in the fridge, but make sure it is well covered).
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Paula says
Love this Spanish potato salad, so tasty!
Caroline's Cooking says
So glad you enjoyed it!
Ali says
This is one of my favorite tapas. I am absolutely drooling! It’s been a while since I’ve had this, I’ll have to make it again now.
Caroline's Cooking says
Hope it brings back those tasty memories as it does for me!