Mimosa Salad

        There is a common belief that there is only one salad in authentic Russian cuisine (potato, carrot and peas with mayonnaise) – which, respectively, bears the name Russian salad (in our country we call it Moscow salad, by the way). But one should not underestimate the tradition of salads in our cuisine. When holiday time comes, the dining tables are overladen with different sorts of them and, apart from “Moscow Salad” a great range of multilayered salads are served. I don’t know whether you can find the same idea of layered, not mixed salads, in any other cuisine – I for one tend to believe that it is a Russian (or, probably, Eastern European) speciality.  

         

             The layered salads usually consist of boiled vegetables, eggs, fresh herbs, cooked protein (chicken, fish or beef) and even nuts, with some mayonnaise thinly spread between the layers. The salads are made at least one day in advance so that the flavour can develop and the layers hold together when cut through (just like multi-tier cream cakes!). Although usually such salads are assembled in big and deep serving plates or bowls, I prefer another way of serving them – individually portioned, in a form of a stack (it adds finesse to the dish, doesn’t it?). One of my favorite multilayered salads is Mimosa – it has a subtle taste of a poached salmon, which is complimented by fresh dill and spring onions. It’s definitely “a special occasion” dish which makes it easy to impress even the greatest gourmets!

Ingredients:

150 gm salmon, poached

3 eggs, hard-boiled

1 carrot

1 potato

¼ bunch spring onions

¼ bunch fresh dill

6 tbsp mayonnaise

a few springs of dill

salt and black pepper to taste

Method:

1. Cut the salmon into small pieces. Separate the yolks and the whites of the eggs and grate them into different bowls. Grate the vegetables into separate plates as well. Finely chop the herbs. Season mayonnaise to taste.
2. Line two big cups with a cling film. Put ¼ of the egg yolk mixture on the bottom of one cup and press to cover the bottom. Top with poached salmon, using ¼ of the mixture. Spread ½ tbsp of mayonnaise, make the next layer with ¼ of the grated egg whites and scatter with ¼ of the herbs. Top with ½ tbsp of mayonnaise. Make a layer of grated carrot, followed by a layer of potato (using ¼ of the mixtures for each), with ½ tbsp of mayonnaise spread between them. Repeat all the layers, starting with an egg yolk and finishing with potato. Make the second serve in another cup the same way. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
3. To serve, flip the salads on a plate and remove the cling film. Garnish with springs of fresh dill.

Notes:

1.      To make smaller portions, do not repeat the layers.

2.      This salad is assembled upside down in a cup. If you have a mould, you can make the layers in a right order from the beginning. Assemble the salad on a serving plate, carefully remove the mould, cover the plate with a bowl and refrigerate.