Hrybnyi Salat (грибний салат, mushroom salad)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large saucepan for potatoes
• •Small saucepan for eggs
• •Sieve
• •Box grater
• •22 to 24 cm serving ring or a shallow platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Cook the base

   Put the potatoes in their skins into salted cold water and bring them to a calm boil. Cook until a knife slides in cleanly but the potato still feels firm enough to grate, not collapsing at the edges. Boil the eggs until the yolks are fully set, then cool everything completely. Warm ingredients make mayonnaise slump, and this salad wants to stand neatly.

2. 2

   Drain the mushrooms

   Tip the mushrooms into a sieve set over a bowl and let them drain until they stop dripping. Save a little of the brine. Halve any large mushrooms, leave small caps whole for the top, and pat them dry with a towel if they still look glossy-wet.

   This is the step that does not forgive laziness. Wet mushrooms turn the dressing loose and the salad starts wandering around the plate.
3. 3

   Mix the dressing

   Stir the mayonnaise with the smetana, black pepper, and one spoonful of the reserved mushroom brine. Taste it. It should be creamy first, then sour at the back of the tongue. Add more brine only if your mushrooms are mild; too much and the layers will slide.

4. 4

   Prepare the layers

   Peel the cold potatoes and grate them coarsely into one bowl. Grate the eggs into another, then the cheese into a third. Stir a pinch of salt and a little dill through the potatoes. Keep your hand light. You want layers, not paste.

5. 5

   Build the salad

   Set a 22 to 24 cm serving ring on a flat platter, or use a shallow bowl if you don't care about sharp sides. Spread half the potato on the bottom and spoon a little mushroom brine over it, just enough to wake it up. Add a thin coat of dressing, then the chopped mushrooms, onion, optional cucumber, and a fistful of dill. Add the eggs, another thin coat of dressing, then the cheese and the last of the potato. Finish with a final skim of dressing, the reserved mushroom caps, and more dill.

   The mushrooms sit against potato for a reason. Potato catches the sharp brine and turns it into seasoning instead of letting it water down the mayonnaise.
6. 6

   Chill and serve

   Cover and chill until the salad tastes like one thing and holds a clean slice, at least three hours and better overnight. Run a thin knife around the ring before lifting it away. Scatter fresh dill just before serving so it stays electric green.

Chef Tips

• •A mixed forest mushroom jar gives the best flavor: openky, masliaky, porcini pieces, anything with bay leaf and pepper in the brine. If all you have is marinated champignons, cook it anyway. Add an extra spoon of brine and plenty of dill.
• •Foraged mushrooms are only for people who know exactly what they are doing. A good commercial jar is safer and still very much the tradition.
• •Half mayonnaise and half smetana is a bit more modern and lighter. All mayonnaise is more old holiday table. Both work, but keep the dressing thick.
• •The salad keeps well for two days in the fridge. Add the final dill only before serving, because chopped dill darkens once it sits under mayonnaise.

Advance Preparation

• •Boil the potatoes and eggs a day ahead and chill them in their skins. Cold potatoes grate cleanly and hold the layers better.
• •Assemble the salad at least 3 hours before serving. Overnight is better; the potato drinks the mushroom brine and the layers settle.
• •Keep covered and chilled until serving. This is holiday food, yes, but it still belongs in the fridge.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 270g)