This is one of the traditional Russian salads. You will find this salad on almost every table in Russia for New Years celebration. The salad does take a bit of time to prepare and requires quiet a bit of mayonnaise, but it is definitely worth it.
The salad has a good balance of sweet, from the beetroot, and saltiness, from the herring. And the layers, make it bright and enjoyable to the eye.
If you haven’t tried this salad before, it is definitely worth it, as you probably also never tried anything similar. It’s quite unique 🙂
To start, wash the carrots, beetroot and potatoes. It is better to make those in advance, because they need to be fully cooked and cooled before you can use them.
Do not peel or cut carrots, potatoes or beetroot. Boil them in skins. It will make sure they keep their shape and not fall apart.
Note: boil the beetroot separately from potatoes and carrots, otherwise it will color them.
Once the vegetables are cooked through, take them off the heat, drain them and allow to cool enough to handle. As you will need to peel them.
Peel carrots, potatoes and beetroot.
Boil the eggs, until hard boiled. Allow to cool and peel them.
Take out 2 egg yolks from the cooked eggs. Shred on a small shredder in a separate bowl. They are for the decoration layer.
Once all the vegetables are cooled and peeled, you can start shredding.
Shred carrots on a large shredder into a medium bowl.
Shred potatoes into a separate bowl.
Do the same for the beetroot, and eggs. Everything has to be in separate bowl.
Cut the herring and the onions. Place in separate bowls.
Now that all your ingredients are cut and shredded and placed in separate bowls, time to season and add mayo to them.
Add salt and pepper to the carrots, potatoes, onions, eggs and beetroot.
Season herring with just black pepper, it already has all the salt.
Now for the mayo. Add mayo and mix through well to every single ingredient. Everything should be moist enough, but not too much, and not too dry.
Time to start assembling.
In a medium bowl, or a deep plate or in whatever dish you wish (I use a glass salad bowl, looks prettier), start assembling:
1. First put the layer of potatoes.
2. Second goes the layer of herring.
3. Third is the layer of onions.
4. Fourth goes the layer from carrots.
5. Fifth is the layer from eggs.
6. Finally sixth is the beetroot.
Then, if you wish, you can add a layer of mayonnaise. For me it is a bit too much mayo, so I skip this layer.
And to decorate, sprinkle the top with the shredded egg yolk.
And voilà! The famous Herring under the Fur Coat Salad.
Cover the bowl with a plastic food wrap and refrigerate for a few hours before serving, helps the layer become more uniform.
But can also be served right away.
Tip: if you plan to serve to guests or make for a special event, make in small bowls, for each person. That way you don’t need to take it out and separate it, and will not ruin the look.
Herring Under A Fur Coat salad
Equipment
- Large pot
- Medium pot
- 3 x large mixing bowls
- 3 x medium mixing bowls
- Glass bowl or a deep plate for assembling the salad layers
Ingredients
- 500 grams (3 medium) beetroot
- 500 grams (4 medium) potatoes
- 300 grams (5 medium) carrots
- 400 grams salted herring
- 1 large onion
- 5 large eggs
- 500 ml mayonnaise (I used 50% fat mayonnaise)
- salt, to taste
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
Cook the vegetables and eggs:
- Wash the potatoes, carrots and beetroot. Do not peel them. Note: not peeling the vegetables, will keep them in shape while boiling, so they will not fall apart.Place carrots and potatoes in a medium pot and beetroot in a large pot. Fill both pots with water, and bring to boil on medium – high heat.Cook for about 20 – 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are completely cooked. Carrots and potatoes will most likely cook faster than beetroot.Drain the water and allow them to cool, completely, or until the are cool enough to handle.Peel the carrots and potatoes.
- Boil the eggs. They need to be cooked through. Usually it should take between 7-9 minutes of boiling time. Cool the eggs and peel them.
Shred and chop the ingredients:
- Once the vegetables are peeled, shred them into separate bowls on a large shredder. (Potatoes in one bowl, carrots in another and beetroot in third.)
- Peel and chop the onion, as small as you can, or use an electric blender. You can also shred the onion if you wish. Place in a separate bowl.
- Cut the herring into small cubes. If the herring is a whole fish, debone it first. Place in a separate bowl.
- Remove the cooked yolks from 2 eggs and shred them, on a small shredder, into a separate bowl. This will be used as a decoration layer. Set aside till needed.
- Shred the 3 whole eggs and the 2 egg whites on a large shredder and place in a separate bowl.
- So now you should have 7 bowls with shredded and chopped ingredients (beetroot, carrots, potatoes, eggs, herring, onion and egg yolks.)
- Season beetroot carrots, onions, eggs and potatoes with salt and pepper. Taste. Add more salt or pepper if needed. Season the salted herring with pepper.Add mayonnaise to carrots, potatoes, herring, onions, beetroot and eggs. Everything should be well covered with mayonnaise. For me it took a whole 500 ml jar of mayo, that is without the extra mayo layer on top.
Assemble the salad layers:
- To assemble the layers, take the serving bowl that you prepared.Place a layer of potatoes on the bottom. Even it out.On top place a layer of herring. Even out.Next a layer of onions. Even out.Then a layer of carrots. Even out.Next a layer of eggs. Even out.Top that with beetroot. Even out.Next you can make an extra layer of mayonnaise on top of beetroot, but that is optional. For me it's a bit too much mayo.
- And to decorate, sprinkle the shredded egg yolk on top.
- Cover with plastic food wrap and place in the fridge for a couple of hours before serving. Can also be eaten right away, but will be more uniform after it spends a bit of time in the fridge.Enjoy!
