Saladrus is Tahiti's version of Russian salad, made with cubed waxy potatoes, carrots, green beans, peas, cooked beet, mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar or lime juice, and grated egg. The beet juice tints the mayonnaise soft pink, making saladrus a familiar composed salad at tamaaraa feasts.

How do I make saladrus pink without making it neon?

Make saladrus pink by stirring 2 tablespoons beet juice into 1 1/4 cups mayonnaise with Dijon mustard, vinegar or lime juice, sugar, sea salt, and black pepper. Add the beet juice slowly until the dressing turns soft Tahitian pink, then fold in finely diced cooked beet.

How long should I boil the potatoes and carrots for saladrus?

Boil 1/2-inch cubes of waxy potatoes and carrots in salted water for 8 to 12 minutes, until a knife passes through but the cubes still hold their edges. Add green beans for the last 3 minutes and frozen peas for the last 30 seconds.

Why did my saladrus turn watery?

Saladrus turns watery when the boiled potatoes, carrots, green beans, and peas are dressed while wet or hot. Drain the vegetables well, then spread them on a tray or wide bowl so steam escapes and the surfaces dry before folding them into the pink mayonnaise dressing.

Can I make saladrus ahead of time?

Yes. Cook and chill the saladrus vegetables up to 1 day ahead, then dress them the day you serve so the salad stays bright. Fully assembled saladrus keeps well for 24 hours covered in the refrigerator. Grate the final eggs over the top just before serving.

What can I add to Tahitian saladrus?

Tahitian saladrus commonly includes potatoes, carrots, green beans, peas, cooked beet, chopped egg, mayonnaise, mustard, and vinegar or lime juice. Some families add corn, diced ham, apple, pickle, or sliced green onions while keeping the salad generous, rosy, and folded gently instead of mashed.

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Saladrus (Tahitian Russian Salad)

Name: Saladrus (Tahitian Russian Salad)
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: Polynesian, Tahitian
Ingredients: 2 pounds waxy potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes; 3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes; 1 cup green beans, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces; 1 cup frozen peas; 1 medium cooked beet, finely diced, plus 2 tablespoons beet juice; 4 large eggs; 1 1/4 cups mayonnaise; 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard; 1 tablespoon white vinegar or fresh lime juice; 1 teaspoon sugar; 1 teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more for boiling water; 1/2 teaspoon black pepper; 2 green onions, thinly sliced, optional

Created by

Tahiti's pink feast salad, potatoes and vegetables bound in mayonnaise, colored by beet juice, and finished with grated egg for the tamaʻaraʻa table.

Salads

Polynesian, Tahitian

Celebration

Potluck

Special Occasion

25 min

Active Time

25 min cook•50 min total

Yield8 servings

The canoe foods teach one kind of kinship, and the feast table teaches another. In Tahiti, the fenua, the land, still holds the old maʻa, the food of taro, ʻuru, fish, coconut, and the ahimaʻa, the Tahitian earth oven. But beside those deep foods at a tamaʻaraʻa, the big shared feast, you'll often see this pink salad sitting proud and ordinary, saladrus, Tahiti's own hand on Russian salad.

This is not canoe-era food, and no need pretend it is. It came through French tables, local kitchens, church halls, family parties, and the kind of auntie who knows exactly how pink the mayonnaise should go. Same ocean, different bowl: Hawaiʻi has potato-mac salad on the plate lunch, Sāmoa has sapasui at the family spread, Tonga welcomes corned beef and rice, and Tahiti has saladrus bright on the feast table. The islands eat old and new together. That's real life.

The work is simple, but don't get sloppy. Cook the potatoes and carrots until tender but not collapsing, drain them dry, and fold the dressing through gently so the salad stays composed, not mashed. The beet gives that soft rose color, the grated egg on top makes it look finished, and the whole bowl should taste cool, creamy, a little sweet, a little sharp. Eat what you have, yeah, but make it with care. Even the everyday food deserves respect.

Russian salad began as salade Olivier in 1860s Moscow, then moved widely through Europe as salade russe, including through French cooking. In Tahiti, where France made the islands a protectorate in 1842 and annexed them in 1880, the dish was folded into local feast life as saladrus, a beet-pink mayonnaise salad for tamaʻaraʻa tables. It is post-contact Tahitian food, not deep canoe food, and that matters: the modern table can carry colonial history, local adaptation, and family pleasure all at once.

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Ingredients

waxy potatoes

Quantity

2 pounds

peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

carrots

Quantity

3 medium

peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

green beans

Quantity

1 cup

trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

frozen peas

Quantity

1 cup

cooked beet

Quantity

1 medium

finely diced

beet juice

Quantity

2 tablespoons

large eggs

Quantity

mayonnaise

Quantity

1 1/4 cups

Dijon mustard

Quantity

1 tablespoon

white vinegar or fresh lime juice

Quantity

1 tablespoon

sugar

Quantity

1 teaspoon

fine sea salt

Quantity

1 teaspoon

plus more for boiling water

black pepper

Quantity

1/2 teaspoon

green onions (optional)

Quantity

thinly sliced

Ingredient	Quantity
waxy potatoespeeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes	2 pounds
carrotspeeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes	3 medium
green beanstrimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces	1 cup
frozen peas	1 cup
cooked beetfinely diced	1 medium
beet juice	2 tablespoons
large eggs	4
mayonnaise	1 1/4 cups
Dijon mustard	1 tablespoon
white vinegar or fresh lime juice	1 tablespoon
sugar	1 teaspoon
fine sea saltplus more for boiling water	1 teaspoon
black pepper	1/2 teaspoon
green onions (optional)thinly sliced	2

Equipment Needed

•Large 6-quart pot for boiling vegetables
•Wide mixing bowl for folding without crushing
•Box grater for the egg finish

Instructions

1
Cook the eggs
Put the eggs in a small pot, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat, cover, and let them sit 10 minutes, then cool in cold water. Peel them when they are cool. Two eggs get chopped into the salad, and two get grated over the top.
2
Boil the roots
Bring a large pot of salted water to a gentle boil. Add the potatoes and carrots and cook 8 to 12 minutes, until they are tender enough for a knife to pass through but still hold their edges. Don't cook them to poi. No blame the taro, and no blame the potato either, if you walked away too long.
3
Add green vegetables
Add the green beans for the last 3 minutes, then stir in the peas for the last 30 seconds. Drain everything well and spread it out on a tray or wide bowl so the heat leaves and the vegetables dry on the surface. A wet salad turns loose and sad.
4
Make it pink
In a wide bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar or lime juice, sugar, salt, pepper, and beet juice. The dressing should turn soft pink, not neon, and taste creamy with just enough sharpness to wake up the potatoes.
5
Fold the salad
Add the cooled potatoes, carrots, green beans, peas, diced beet, chopped eggs, and green onions if using. Fold with a soft hand until everything is coated and rosy, keeping the cubes whole. This is a composed salad, so let it sit together without turning it into mash.
6
Chill and finish
Cover and chill at least 1 hour if you have the time. Before serving, taste for salt and acidity, then smooth the salad into a shared bowl and grate the remaining eggs over the top like a pale yellow blanket. Serve cool at the tamaʻaraʻa table, enough for one more plate.

Chef Tips

•Use waxy potatoes if you can. They hold their shape better than floury potatoes, and saladrus wants clean little cubes, not a bowl of broken mash.
•The beet is mostly there for color and a little earthiness. Add the juice slowly until the salad turns the soft Tahitian pink you want.
•This is everyday feast food, so don't make it precious. Some families add corn, diced ham, apple, or a little pickle. Keep the Tahitian hand clear, keep the bowl generous, and feed the people.

Advance Preparation

•Cook and chill the vegetables up to 1 day ahead, then dress them the day you serve so the salad stays bright.
•Fully assembled saladrus keeps well for 24 hours covered in the refrigerator. Grate the final egg on top just before serving.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 240g)

Calories

395 calories

Total Fat

28 g

Saturated Fat

5 g

Trans Fat

0 g

Unsaturated Fat

23 g

Cholesterol

110 mg

Sodium

700 mg

Total Carbohydrates

29 g

Dietary Fiber

4 g

Sugars

6 g

Protein

7 g

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Saladrus (Tahitian Russian Salad)

The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.