Chef Zohra
Bakoula (بقولة)
Mallow greens cooked soft and dark with garlic, cumin, preserved lemon, and olives, the Moroccan cooked salad that tastes of spring rain and a loaf of khobz shared warm.
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Salade Russe Marocaine
Created by
The cold wedding-table salad Morocco made its own: potato, carrot, and peas cut small, bound in mayonnaise, chilled until neat, tender, and ready for a crowded platter.
Salads
Moroccan
Celebration
Make Ahead
Special Occasion
25 min
Active Time
20 min cook•1 hr 45 min total
Yield6 servings
This is the salad you meet at celebrations, already cold, already waiting, while the kitchen is busy with the heavier dishes. It doesn't shout. It sits on the wedding table or the Eid table in a neat mound, pale and speckled with carrot and peas, giving everyone something cool between the rich plates.
The whole dish depends on the knife and the timing. Cut the vegetables small and even so every spoonful carries potato, carrot, and peas together. Cook them until tender but not tired, then cool them fully before the mayonnaise goes in. Warm potatoes drink too much and turn heavy. Cold vegetables hold their shape, and the salad stays clean on the tongue.
This is not old palace cooking, and I won't pretend it is. It came through French habits and Moroccan feast tables made room for it, because des cuisines marocaines are alive tables, not locked cupboards. Make it ahead. Chill it well. Set it down with olives, eggs, and khobz nearby, and leave one more spoon for whoever arrives late.
Salade russe entered Moroccan urban tables in the 20th century through French colonial-era hotel, cafe, and banquet cooking, itself descended from the Russian Olivier salad created in Moscow in the 1860s. In Morocco it became part of the salade composée served at weddings, engagements, and holiday meals, especially in cities where French service and Moroccan abundance met on the same table. The exact path from European buffet dish to Moroccan celebration platter is not written in one clean line, but its place on modern feast tables is now well established.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
waxy potatoes
Quantity
500g
peeled and diced into small cubes
carrots
Quantity
250g
peeled and diced into small cubes
peas
Quantity
150g
fresh or frozen
eggs
Quantity
2 large
mayonnaise
Quantity
120g, plus more if needed
fresh lemon juice
Quantity
1 tbsp
flat-leaf parsley
Quantity
1 tbsp
finely chopped
fine sea salt
Quantity
1/2 tsp, plus more for cooking water
white pepper
Quantity
1/4 tsp
green olives
Quantity
12
for serving
lettuce leaves (optional)
Quantity
a few
for lining the platter
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| waxy potatoespeeled and diced into small cubes | 500g |
| carrotspeeled and diced into small cubes | 250g |
| peasfresh or frozen | 150g |
| eggs | 2 large |
| mayonnaise | 120g, plus more if needed |
| fresh lemon juice | 1 tbsp |
| flat-leaf parsleyfinely chopped | 1 tbsp |
| fine sea salt | 1/2 tsp, plus more for cooking water |
| white pepper | 1/4 tsp |
| green olivesfor serving | 12 |
| lettuce leaves (optional)for lining the platter | a few |
Equipment Needed
- •Medium saucepan
- •Wide tray for cooling
- •Large mixing bowl
- •Serving platter
Instructions
- 1
Dice evenly
Cut the potatoes and carrots into small, even cubes, about the size of a pea if your patience allows. This is the gesture that decides the salad: uneven pieces cook unevenly, and the spoonful loses its order.
- 2
Cook the vegetables
Bring a pot of salted water to a gentle boil. Add the carrots first and cook for 4 minutes, then add the potatoes and cook until both are tender but still holding their edges, 8 to 10 minutes more. Add the peas for the last 2 minutes only, so they stay bright and sweet.
Test with the point of a knife. It should enter easily, but the cube should not crumble when lifted. - 3
Cool completely
Drain the vegetables well and spread them on a tray or wide plate. Let them cool completely, then chill for at least 30 minutes. Mayonnaise belongs on cold vegetables, not warm ones, or it loosens and turns the salad dull.
- 4
Boil the eggs
Put the eggs in a small pot, cover with water, and simmer for 10 minutes. Cool in cold water, peel, and cut into quarters or rounds for serving. Keep them separate from the salad so the platter stays neat.
- 5
Bind the salad
In a wide bowl, stir the mayonnaise with lemon juice, salt, white pepper, and parsley. Fold in the cold vegetables with a soft hand, turning from the bottom so the cubes stay whole. Taste. La balance est dans les yeux, and also in the mouth: add a spoon more mayonnaise only if the salad needs to hold together.
- 6
Chill and serve
Cover and chill for at least 1 hour. To serve, line a platter with lettuce if you like, mound the salad in the center, and arrange the eggs and green olives around it. Serve cold, with spoons for sharing.
Chef Tips
- •Use waxy potatoes, not floury ones. They keep their shape after boiling and give you a clean dice instead of a mash.
- •Do not add cumin, ras el hanout, or saffron here. This salad carries its French-era banquet habit, and the Moroccan hand is in the feast table, the neat dice, the olives, and the welcome.
- •Make the mayonnaise generous but not heavy. The vegetables should be coated, not buried.
- •If using frozen peas, add them straight from the freezer for the last 2 minutes of cooking. They don't need more than that.
Advance Preparation
- •Cook and chill the vegetables up to 1 day ahead. Bind with mayonnaise the day you serve, or up to 6 hours before the meal.
- •The finished salad keeps covered in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Stir gently before serving and refresh with a small spoon of mayonnaise if needed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 200g)
Calories
275 calories
Total Fat
18 g
Saturated Fat
3 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
15 g
Cholesterol
70 mg
Sodium
550 mg
Total Carbohydrates
23 g
Dietary Fiber
5 g
Sugars
4 g
Protein
6 g
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