Every christmas my wife who is Serbian, makes a potato salad that she calls Russian salad. Just like most heirloom recipes, it was passed on to her by her mother, who got it from her mother (who was in fact a Russian). Like I've said before, the most simple ingredients can make a wonderful dish unique.
So finally, I squeezed that recipe from her.
tanyatom1: well u slice potatoes 1kg, carrots 500gr, peas 500gr, pickles 1 pack,eggs 8pcs, 1 lemon, 500gr ham, chicken breast 1 pcs, mayo as you like
That's it.
What she didn't say is that you should not overcook the potatoes. They should have some bite. The carrots must be cooked just slightly more than blanched otherwise the salad will spoil quickly. The chicken must be hand separated. The pickles must be dill, diced fine. The eggs hard boiled and she was referring to the juice of one lemon, of course, conveniently excluding salt and pepper to taste.
I would pour in some of the liquid of the dill pickle to add a bit more acidity and tartness to the dish.
When assembling the salad, the ingredients must be at room temperature then chilled. Never freeze this salad and when storing, spread a thin layer of mayo on top. it provides a seal that will lock in the flavor.
Potatoes first, then the carrots, eggs, chicken, ham then pickles, now gently spoon in the peas. Mayo and juice of one lemon last.
My mom looks forward to receiving her customary bowl of salad every Christmas.
A collection of food. Good Food. The kind you would never ever get in a restaurant. Just something that your mother used to make that will never find its match anywhere, or maybe a personal creation that was inspired by someone else. Whatever it is, it deserves to be served. After all, when you're preparing something to eat, you should be thinking about who you'll be eating with.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Monday, May 30, 2011
Pinatisan
Some of the best foods I've tried were made from just a few ingredients.
This has got to be one of them. When we were living in the big house, we had a whole family providing us with home services, from kitchen, laundry, garden and cleaning service throughout the house. Fe was married to Pedro and they had 3 children. Two cousins lived with them providing additional help.
One of the simple dishes she would whip up could be prepared in 20 mins flat. This is my version using less fatty portion of pork.
I prefer the Butterfly cut or Pork slices they offer in Rustan's. Cut diagonally to produce a thin fillet, it cooks quickly and you don't lose much bulk to cooking plus it's not too fatty a portion.
250 gms. Pork cutlet sliced diagonally to come up with a small fillet about the size of sliced radish. you want 1/2 hte number of fillets as slices of radish.
1 whole local radish, peeled and sliced like coins
1 small onion chopped
3 cloves garlic crushed and chopped
1 medium local tomato sliced
1 tbsp. patis
water to simmer in
Start with sauteeing the onions, garlic and tomato over a low flame in a medium fry pan. You just want to allow the ginisa to wilt and turn translucent.
As it starts turning lightly orange because of the tomato breaking down, add 1/2 cup of water and allow to boil.
With your spoon or spatula press down on the tomatoes to crush them slightly
Now add your radish slices distributing them evenly in the pan, follow this with the pork slices evenly as well, several grinds of a pepper mill and allow to boil. Now add your tablespoon of Patis and stir gently.
Press down on the tomatoes again to squeeze the color out of them then lower the flame. As the mixture starts to simmer down, cover and allow to simmer over a low flame for 10 mins. Check that the tomatoes are crushed and the liquid has turned slightly orange.
You want the liquid to reduce to a bit more watery consistency - almost like a soup that's ever so slightly thick.
Turn into a plate that can hold the liquid and serve hot.
Lots of hot white rice goes very well with this.
Maybe even a cold Sauvignon Blanc, in its absence, beer will do
This has got to be one of them. When we were living in the big house, we had a whole family providing us with home services, from kitchen, laundry, garden and cleaning service throughout the house. Fe was married to Pedro and they had 3 children. Two cousins lived with them providing additional help.
One of the simple dishes she would whip up could be prepared in 20 mins flat. This is my version using less fatty portion of pork.
I prefer the Butterfly cut or Pork slices they offer in Rustan's. Cut diagonally to produce a thin fillet, it cooks quickly and you don't lose much bulk to cooking plus it's not too fatty a portion.
250 gms. Pork cutlet sliced diagonally to come up with a small fillet about the size of sliced radish. you want 1/2 hte number of fillets as slices of radish.
1 whole local radish, peeled and sliced like coins
1 small onion chopped
3 cloves garlic crushed and chopped
1 medium local tomato sliced
1 tbsp. patis
water to simmer in
Start with sauteeing the onions, garlic and tomato over a low flame in a medium fry pan. You just want to allow the ginisa to wilt and turn translucent.
As it starts turning lightly orange because of the tomato breaking down, add 1/2 cup of water and allow to boil.
With your spoon or spatula press down on the tomatoes to crush them slightly
Now add your radish slices distributing them evenly in the pan, follow this with the pork slices evenly as well, several grinds of a pepper mill and allow to boil. Now add your tablespoon of Patis and stir gently.
Press down on the tomatoes again to squeeze the color out of them then lower the flame. As the mixture starts to simmer down, cover and allow to simmer over a low flame for 10 mins. Check that the tomatoes are crushed and the liquid has turned slightly orange.
You want the liquid to reduce to a bit more watery consistency - almost like a soup that's ever so slightly thick.
Turn into a plate that can hold the liquid and serve hot.
Lots of hot white rice goes very well with this.
Maybe even a cold Sauvignon Blanc, in its absence, beer will do
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