Ensalada Rusa

I had decided to spend Sunday slow braising a rabbit in the oven. However when I realized it would be 30 plus degrees I quickly changed my mind- I did not think it a good idea to have the oven on all day with such warm weather.
Not to worry.
As I’m always prepared when it comes to food (the only area of my life in which I’m prepared), I decided to cook chorizo sausages instead. I served the sausages with Chimichurri sauce and Ensalada Rusa- a very traditional South American combination of dishes and perfect for summer.
Ensalada Rusa translates to Russian Salad from Spanish to English. I was surprised to learn from Mike that the Russians make a similar salad, but it includes diced beetroots (his parents are Russian). Maybe Russian immigrants brought it with them to South America? There is also a salad of the similar name in the repertoire of French haute cuisine, Salade Russe, but it is a much more complicated affair and contains too many ingredients for my liking.
This is probably the most popular salad in my family and is the obligatory accompaniment to barbequed meat (or asado, as it is known).
It is easier enough to prepare but needs attention to a few details for it to be excellent rather than mediocre:

• Make sure to choose waxy potatoes, as they will keep their shape when mixing the salad.
• Chop the carrot and potato into even-shaped dice. Smaller is better than bigger pieces.
• Don’t over cook the potatoes. I like to steam everything so they don’t become waterlogged or lose flavour.
• Be sure to use homemade mayonnaise. I have never tasted shop bought mayonnaise that actually tastes like mayonnaise (they are usually gluey and sweet).
• And finally (my own touch), whilst the potatoes are still warm toss them with a dash of white wine vinegar and olive oil. This simple step will give the salad extra flavour.

I know the world probably doesn’t need another recipe for mayo-smothered potato salad but this is a fine one. It tastes much, much nicer than similar salads you find at the supermarket deli. Besides, I have promised to write about the authentic, traditional foods of my heritage and this collection would not be complete without it.

Components
400g diced waxy potatoes (peeled weight)
200g diced carrots (peeled weight)
100g peas (shelled weight)
30 ml extra virgin olive oil
10 ml excellent quality white wine vinegar
Homemade Mayonnaise (flavoured with white wine vinegar rather than lemon juice)
Sea salt
Fresh black pepper

Process
Place all the vegetables (in one layer) in a steamer. Steam over boiling water until just cooked. You can steam everything separately if you want to catch the exact moment of each vegetable, if you like.
Place the just- cooked vegetables into a large bowl and toss with the combined oil and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. This non-traditional step gives the salad extra tang, without changing the nature of the dish.
Once the vegetables have cooled and absorbed the oil and vinegar, toss with enough mayonnaise to coat and bind everything. Check the salt, adding more if need be.
Allow to rest a while, or serve straight away. You can garnish with pretty pieces of boiled egg if you are feeling festive.
Enough for 2 – 3 people (or more depending on how many salads you are presenting).

Beetroot and Carrot Soup

Today’s recipe is not only easy to make, but beautiful to look at and more importantly, beautiful to eat as well. I am absolutely mad about beetroots, and if I were to compile a list of my favorite ingredients, I would include them in the top ten.
I took the inspiration for this soup from “Gennaro’s Italian Year” by Gennaro Contaldo, a wonderful book I recently read. And when I say inspiration, that’s exactly what I mean. My version and his version couldn’t be more different. The original soup is rather austere in the way that Italian soups tend to be. In my creation I have taken the liberty to use two very un-Italian flavors. Cumin to complement the root vegetables, and cream whipped with mustard to accessorise the finished puree.


Ingredients
15g butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 tsp ground cumin
650g carrot, peeled and chopped
650g beetroots, peeled and chopped
650g potato, peeled and chopped
Stock (I used chicken stock cubes)
1 tsp brown sugar
100ml cream (35% milk fat) or milk
Sea salt
Fresh pepper (black and white)
Raspberry vinegar, to taste
Freshly chopped parsley
Cream and wholegrain mustard, whipped together

Method.
Gently cook the onion, celery and garlic in the butter and oil in a soup pot. Sauté for about 15 minutes or until softened. Do not allow to become golden.
Add the cumin and sauté for another minute.
Add the carrot, beetroot and potato. Cover with stock and add the sugar. Simmer for 1 hour, or until the beetroot is tender.
Allow to cool.
Puree the soup using whatever apparatus you happen to own. Add the cream or milk. Adjust the consistency of the soup to suit, using stock, milk or water.
Reheat and season to taste with salt, both peppers and a splash of raspberry vinegar. The vinegar is there to provide a touch of background acidity to balance the sweetness of vegetables, and richness of the cream. Use the vinegar sparingly. Ideally you don’t want the soup to taste of vinegar, and certainly not of raspberries.
Serve in soup bowls garnished with parsley and the mustard cream.
Note-I used about 100ml of cream to 2 tsp of wholegrain mustard.

Carrot Puree for Veal Schnitzel

Veal Schnitzel and carrot puree sounds like a strange combination, but it really works and I love it. This puree is more fluid than usual and it is meant to be served as a sauce to dip your schnitzel into, rather than a solid vegetable puree.
I am not going to give a schnitzel recipe here, but I like to coat my veal steaks in a mixture of seasoned flour and mustard powder, egg and Japanese breadcrumbs. I fry them in peanut oil until golden and give them a quick drain on paper towels.

Ingredients
300g carrot
200g dutch cream potato (or other suitable mashing potato)
1 clove of garlic
300ml vegetable stock (fake is fine)
1 tsp cumin
Sea salt
Fresh black pepper
3 heaped tbsp cream (35% fat)
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
25 ml lemon juice (or to taste)
Fresh chopped parsley

Method
Peel the carrots and potatoes. Cut them into chunks.
Steam them over boiling water until they are tender (about 20 minutes). The rest is a breeze.
Place the veggies with the stock, garlic, cumin and cream into a saucepan.
Using a hand blender, whiz everything to a fine and fluid puree. It should almost be like cream of carrot soup.
Reheat only for a few seconds (you want to retain the raw garlic flavour).
Season with salt, pepper, lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil.
I like to serve this in small bowls alongside the schnitzels, for dipping. Serves 2.