Ensaladilla Rusa - Russian Salad

In the United States, you can find several mayonnaise-based salads: potato salad, tuna salad, and egg salad. In Spain, they don't really have any of that, but they do have Ensaladilla Rusa (Russian Salad). Ensaladilla Rusa is a combination of all of the above.

My wife had a Russian immigrant friend when she was a child and acquired intelligence that suggests that they really do eat this dish in Russia, but I have no other corroborating evidence. Personally, I have never seen this dish outside of Spain.

Ingredients

• Potatos - boiled, peeled, and mashed
• Eggs - hard boiled
• Olives
• Peas
• Corn
• Tuna
• Canned Fried Peppers (pimentos)
• Salt
• Mayonnaise

Instructions

1. Set aside a few of the ingredients to decorate the top.
2. Finely chop and mix all the other ingredients in a serving dish with a fork.
3. Flatten the top.
4. Put a very thin layer of mayonnaise on top to make it look white. (The rest of the salad is more gray.)
5. Decorate as you wish. I often go with radially symmetric kaleidoscope-like designs (see photos), but I've done smiley faces and hearts and things.

Photos

Peas and corn waiting to be sprinkled on top

The final product. Notice the radial symmetry.

Enjoy! It's a great side dish with any meat or fish.