Beet and Potato Salad
Updated August 2, 2015
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
¾ pound potatoes
2 large beets, roasted
1 celery rib, diced
½ small red onion, minced, soaked in water for 5 minutes, then drained, rinsed and drained on paper towels (optional)
2 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and finely chopped
2 tablespoons minced chives
2 tablespoons Champagne vinegar or sherry vinegar
Salt to taste
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup plain low-fat yogurt
Freshly ground pepper
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 to 6 servings)
15 grams carbs; 51 milligrams cholesterol; 171 calories; 7 grams monosaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 11 grams fat; 3 grams fiber; 335 milligrams sodium; 4 grams protein; 4 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Cut the potatoes into halves or quarters and steam over 1 inch of boiling water until tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the heat. When they are cool enough to handle, cut in small dice.
- Step 2
Peel the beets and cut in small dice. In a large bowl, combine with the potatoes, celery, onion, hard-boiled eggs and chives.
- Step 3
In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the vinegar, mustard and salt. Whisk in the olive oil and the yogurt. Toss with the vegetables. Add freshly ground pepper, taste and adjust salt. Serve right away or refrigerate.
Advance preparation: This will keep for two or three days in the refrigerator. I like it even better the day after it's made, as both the beets and the potatoes absorb the nice tart dressing. The beet color will intensify.
Private Notes
Comments
To roast beets: set oven to 400 or so (25 degrees either way is fine, if you're cooking something fussier at the same time). Don't peel the beets! Cut off greens about 2 inches from the beet, saving them for another use. Put beets in an ovenproof pan with a lid or foil on top, and pop it in the oven. For ping-pong-ball-size beets, about 45 minutes; for tennis-ball-size beets, maybe 75 minutes; etc. Peel while beet is still hot; the skin slips off like a glove.
This is, actually, not a version of Salade Russe; rather, it is a version of another equally ubiquitous salad in the Baltic states and along the western border of Russia, known as Russolye: beets, either boiled or roasted, and cubed, with boiled, peeled, and cubed potatoes, dressed in creme fraiche, soured cream, or smetanya, with dill and finely sliced scallions or slivers of yellow onion. It turns a Pepto-Bismol-on-steroids shade of pink.
I'm going to guess that one roasts a large beet approxmately as long as one roasts a medium potato--but I'm not sure. How about including both time and temperature for beet-roasting? Never over-estimate the knowledge or experience of your readers.
I love Russian potato salad. And I love this salad. They are not twins but I can see (taste?) strong family resemblance. While it feels like sacrilege to mess with my mom's potato salad recipe, this is different enough that I felt zero guilt eating a different version and enjoying it. The yoghurt definitely feels more wholesome than mayo here, so I appreciate that choice very much. I skipped the onion. I might have to try dill pickles instead of celery, because I missed them in this recipe.
This dish did not seem at all French; it felt very Slavic, aka survivalist. I love beets, but combining them with potatoes really ruined them. I won't be making this again and ended up scraping most of it into the composter.
Forget about roasting the beets. Cook them in a pressure cooker for about 7 minutes, and cut them in small cubes.