Saturday, April 2, 2011

Clarissa's Sauerkraut Salad: A Recipe

This is a very traditional salad that we make often in my culture. Since good sauerkraut is hard to come around in the area where I live, I make my own. It isn't difficult at all to make it, and if people are interested, I can share how it's done. My country isn't rich in vegetables and vegetarian options do not abound. This is probably the closest we come to a vegetarian and healthy dish. (Here I do need to remind you that Ukrainian cuisine is probably among the most unhealthy in the world. Everything is salted, pickled, and smothered in lard. It is what it is, so I'm just trying to make the best of it.)

What you are going to need:

sauerkraut
potatoes
beets
pickles
scallions
canned green peas
olive oil

Some people also add carrots but I make my sauerkraut with carrots, I don't add any more to the salad to avoid overpowering it with a carroty taste.

I don't put any proportions here because it is really a matter of individual taste. Just keep adding ingredients and stop when you reach the taste profile that makes you happy.

1. Boil some potatoes but make sure they are not overdone. Nothing is worse than a mushy potato in a salad. Potatoes should still remain pleasantly firm inside after you boil them. 

2. Many people boil their beets too, but it's always better to bake them in foil. Beets should also be taken out of the oven before they become mushy inside.

3. While things are boiling and baking, cut up some scallions and pickles and mix them in a big bowl with sauerkraut and green peas. Don't overdo the pickles. Two medium-sized one are more than enough for the bowl of this size.

4. In the absence of a Russian food store in a close physical proximity, these are the pickles that I use for all my recipes because they come very close in taste to the real thing. I don't suggest getting any other brand of pickles because the strong vinegary taste of most North American brands will demolish the taste of all my recipes.
5. Then, when potatoes and beets are ready, dice them and add them to the salad. The smaller you dice them, the better the quality of the salad will be. Then, add a little olive oil (I never add more than a tea spoon, unless the sauerkraut is extremely dry), mix everything, and enjoy.

6 comments:

Pagan Topologist said...

I cannot eat potatoes, but I may try this without them. It sounds wonderful.

Clarissa said...

Why can't you eat potatoes? Oh, that's so sad. I don't know what I'd do without them.

Thank you for the compliment, though.

Kira said...

Is this a usual beetsalad (vinegret)?

Clarissa said...

Yes! But "vinaigrette" means something completely different in English (a kind of sauce), so I couldn't call it that.

Pagan Topologist said...

Potatoes give me heart papitations, which are really scary. It took me years to figure out the cause of the heart flutter, but since I stopped eating potatoes in 1997, I have had only three episodes, whereas before that I had three or four a month for over ten years.

Clarissa said...

Horrible! I'm so sorry to hear that. But it's great that it doesn't happen that much any more.