Russian salad: the traditional recipe that's a hit in

Russian salad is probably the most beloved cold dish in all of Spain. There isn't a tapas bar, family celebration, or summer meal that can be conceived without a generous platter topped with mayonnaise and garnished with an anchovy or a prawn. And yet, few recipes generate as much controversy: with or without pickles, with or without olives, thick or thinly sliced potatoes, homemade or store-bought mayonnaise. Each family defends its version as the only true one.

In this guide, we'll teach you how to make a homemade Russian salad that leaves a lasting impression: with premium ingredients, hand-emulsified mayonnaise, perfectly cooked vegetables, and a professional bar-style presentation. All the tricks we've learned at Bacalalo del Mercat del Ninot, since 1990, preparing and serving thousands of portions of this immortal tapa.

What is Russian salad

Russian salad is a cold potato salad with carrots, peas, and other vegetables, bound with mayonnaise and enriched with protein (canned tuna, in the Spanish version). It is served as a tapa, starter, or side dish, and is one of the most consumed dishes in restaurants and homes throughout Spain, especially in warmer months.

Its origin is far from our borders. The dish was born in Moscow around 1860, when the Franco-Belgian chef Lucien Olivier created the salade Olivier for the Hermitage restaurant. That original version was a luxury dish: grouse, beef tongue, caviar, crayfish, capers, and a secret sauce that Olivier took to his grave. It had little to do with what we serve in Spain today.

The recipe traveled through Europe, and each country adapted it to its pantry and taste. In Russia, it evolved into the salat Olivye, which is prepared on New Year's Eve with sausages and canned peas. In France, it was known as macédoine de légumes. And in Spain, the transformation was radical: meat was replaced by canned tuna (much more affordable and available), olives and pickles were added, and the original sauce was replaced by a generous homemade mayonnaise. The result is a dish that, despite its name, is as Spanish as a potato omelet or gazpacho.

Russian salad became popular in tapas bars starting in the 1950s and 60s, as popular hospitality became consolidated. Its success is due to practical reasons: it can be prepared in advance, improves with resting, is economical, filling, and allows the bar to serve portions without needing a stove. It is the perfect example of how a humble dish can achieve the status of a national classic when the ingredients are good and the preparation is careful.

The secret to a good salad: mayonnaise

If Russian salad has only one secret, it's this: homemade mayonnaise. There are no shortcuts. A jarred mayonnaise, no matter how good, will never achieve the creaminess, shine, and clean flavor of a homemade emulsified mayonnaise. It's the difference between a decent salad and a memorable one.

Mayonnaise is an emulsion: a stable mixture of two liquids that normally do not mix (oil and an aqueous component, in this case vinegar or lemon). The lecithin in the egg yolk acts as an emulsifier, surrounding each microdrop of oil and keeping it in suspension. Understanding this helps you avoid the most dreaded mistake: the mayonnaise splitting.

Ingredients for mayonnaise

• 2 egg yolks at room temperature
• 250-300 ml sunflower oil (or half sunflower, half mild olive oil)
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar (or juice of half a lemon)
• A pinch of salt

How to emulsify correctly

1. Everything at room temperature. Cold egg emulsifies worse. Take the yolks out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before.
2. Place the yolks in a tall, narrow bowl (if using a hand blender) or a wide mortar (if making by hand). Add salt and vinegar. Beat for a few seconds until combined.
3. Add the oil in a very thin stream, almost drop by drop at first. This is the critical moment: if you add too much oil at once, the emulsion will break. Beat continuously while incorporating the oil.
4. Once you've incorporated a third of the oil and see the mixture starting to thicken, you can increase the flow of the oil stream. Keep beating.
5. The mayonnaise is ready when it has a firm consistency, a pale yellow color, and a satin sheen. Taste and adjust for salt and acidity.

If it splits: don't throw anything away. Put a new yolk in a clean bowl and gradually add the split mayonnaise, as if it were oil. It will emulsify again without a problem.

Professional tip: For Russian salad, the mayonnaise should be slightly firmer than usual, because the moisture from the vegetables will loosen it. If it's too runny, add a little more oil. Many professional bars use exclusively sunflower oil for Russian salad mayonnaise because it produces a more neutral flavor that allows the other ingredients to shine. Extra virgin olive oil, while more flavorful, can be bitter in a cold emulsion and competes with other flavors.

Ingredients for the perfect Russian salad

This Russian salad recipe is calculated for 6-8 people as a generous tapa or for 4-6 as a main course. The proportions are balanced so that each spoonful has a little bit of everything.

For the base

• 600g potatoes (floury variety like Kennebec or Monalisa)
• 200g carrots (2 medium carrots)
• 150g peas (fine frozen or fresh in season)
• 3 boiled eggs
• 200g quality canned tuna (in olive oil, well drained)
• 60g pitted green olives (Manzanilla or Gordal, chopped)
• 50g pickled gherkins (cornichons, finely chopped)

For the mayonnaise

• 2 egg yolks
• 250-300 ml sunflower oil
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• Salt to taste

For garnish

• 1 extra boiled egg, sliced
• Olives, red bell pepper strips, anchovies, or prawns (optional)
• Sweet paprika from La Vera (a final sprinkle)

Notes on ingredients

The tuna: this is the ingredient that makes the difference between a mediocre and an extraordinary salad. A quality canned tuna, with firm fillets that flake cleanly, brings a taste of the sea and a texture that contrasts with the smoothness of the potato. Cheap tuna breaks down into a tasteless paste that disappears in the salad. It's worth investing here: it's the soul of the dish.

The potatoes: the variety matters. Floury potatoes (Kennebec, Monalisa) absorb mayonnaise better and have a creamier texture. Waxy potatoes (new potatoes) hold their shape better but are firmer and absorb less sauce. For Russian salad, floury potatoes always.

The peas: fine frozen peas (not dried or canned) are the best option almost all year round. They are sweet, maintain a vibrant green color, and cook in minutes. If you have access to fresh seasonal peas (spring), they are unbeatable, but the window is short.

Olives and gherkins: these are the ingredients that divide entire families. Our position: both provide an acidic and salty counterpoint that balances the creaminess of the mayonnaise. They are non-negotiable in a good Russian salad. Chop them finely so they integrate without dominating.

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How to cook vegetables without overdoing it

Cooking the vegetables is the most technical step in Russian salad. Each vegetable has a different cooking time, and overcooking by even two minutes can mean the difference between firm cubes and a mush. The perfect Russian salad has vegetables al dente: tender when bitten but with structure, never soft or mushy.

Potatoes: 18-22 minutes

Place peeled potatoes cut into large chunks (quarters) in a pot with cold salted water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 18-22 minutes, depending on the size. They are ready when a knife passes through them with slight resistance in the center. If the knife slides in like butter, you've overcooked them. It's better to undercook: the potato will continue to cook with residual heat. Do not cook the potato cut into cubes from the beginning: it will absorb too much water and become watery.

Carrots: 12-15 minutes

Peel the carrots and boil them whole in salted boiling water for 12-15 minutes. The same principle as potatoes: whole is better than cut, so they absorb less water. They should be firm, with a residual crunch. When you cut them into cubes later, you'll notice if they have the correct texture: the cubes should maintain their shape without falling apart.

Peas: 2-3 minutes

Frozen peas barely need cooking. Blanch them in boiling salted water for 2-3 minutes, no more. Immediately after, submerge them in a bowl with ice water to stop the cooking and fix the bright green color. This ice bath is important: without it, the peas continue to cook with their own heat and end up soft and dull green.

Eggs: 10-11 minutes

Boil the eggs starting in cold water, count 10-11 minutes from when it comes to a boil. Immediately transfer them to ice water. This way the yolk remains firm but not dry, without that greenish ring that appears when overcooked (iron sulfide, harmless but unsightly). Peel under a stream of water to facilitate the task.

The cut: uniform cubes

Once the vegetables are cooked and cooled, cut them into approximately 1 cm cubes. Uniformity is not a whim: similar cubes mix better, are evenly coated with mayonnaise, and offer a balanced texture in each bite. The eggs are chopped into slightly larger pieces than the vegetables to provide contrast. The tuna is flaked with a fork, never chopped.

Step-by-step recipe: traditional Russian salad

With the vegetables cooked, the eggs ready, and the mayonnaise prepared, assembling the salad is simple. But the order and technique matter more than it seems. Follow these steps for a superior homemade Russian salad.

Step 1: Cool the vegetables completely

This step is non-negotiable. The vegetables must be completely cold before mixing with the mayonnaise. If you mix them warm, the heat will break the mayonnaise emulsion (it will split) and also encourage bacterial growth. Cut the vegetables into cubes while they are still warm (they are easier to cut) and spread them on a wide tray to cool faster. Never pile them hot in a bowl: the steam will condense and soak them.

Step 2: Drain all ingredients well

Moisture is the enemy of Russian salad. Drain the tuna by pressing it with a fork against the colander. Dry the peas with kitchen paper. Make sure the potato and carrot cubes do not have accumulated water. The olives and gherkins, likewise: if you take them directly from the jar dripping, that water will end up diluting the mayonnaise hours later.

Step 3: Mix the vegetables and tuna

In a large bowl, combine the potato and carrot cubes, peas, chopped egg, flaked tuna, chopped olives, and gherkins. Mix gently using a spatula or large spoon, with folding motions. Do not stir violently: you don't want to break up the potato cubes or mash the peas.

Step 4: Season with salt and pepper before the mayonnaise

Taste the mixture without mayonnaise and adjust salt and pepper. This is the time to correct, because once the mayonnaise is added it is harder to gauge. Potatoes absorb a lot of salt, so you will probably need more than you think.

Step 5: Incorporate the mayonnaise

Add the mayonnaise in two or three batches, mixing between each addition. Don't add it all at once. The right amount is enough to generously coat all the ingredients without the salad becoming soggy or loose. There should be enough mayonnaise to make the mixture creamy, but the vegetable cubes should not be swimming in it. Reserve a couple of spoonfuls to decorate the surface.

Step 6: Chill in the refrigerator (minimum 2 hours)

Cover the Russian salad with cling film directly on the surface (the film should touch the surface to prevent it from drying out) and refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours, ideally overnight. During this resting period, the flavors meld, the potato absorbs some of the mayonnaise, and the whole dish gains cohesion. A freshly made Russian salad is good; one that has rested overnight is sublime. That's why bars always make it the day before.

Step 7: Rectify before serving

After resting, the Russian salad will have absorbed some of the mayonnaise and may have become somewhat dry. Taste and, if necessary, add one or two more tablespoons of mayonnaise and mix. Adjust salt. Serve at refrigerator temperature, not room temperature: cold Russian salad is more refreshing and the mayonnaise remains firm.

Our artisan salad: ready to serve

We know that there isn't always time to make Russian salad from scratch. That's why at Bacalalo del Mercat del Ninot we prepare our own Traditional Russian Salad with Tuna: a 500g tub of artisan salad, ready to open and serve.

We make it with the same philosophy that has guided everything we do since 1990: top-quality raw materials and a traditional recipe with no shortcuts. Perfectly cooked potatoes, firm carrots, tender peas, egg, olives, pickles, and quality canned tuna that you can taste in every spoonful. All bound together with mayonnaise emulsified with sunflower oil, vinegar, and egg.

The result is an ensaladilla that tastes exactly as you'd expect: creamy, balanced, with each ingredient in its place, and a flavor that reminds you of home cooking. No artificial preservatives, no thickeners, no tricks. Just good product and expert hands.

500 grams serves 4-6 as a tapa or 2-3 people as a main dish. Simply open the tub, mound the ensaladilla into a dome shape on a plate, decorate with an anchovy, a prawn, or some egg slices, and serve. In ten seconds, you'll have a professional bar tapa at home.

Order Traditional Russian Salad with Tuna (500 g)

Bar-style presentation and garnish

The presentation of Russian salad is almost an art in itself. In the best tapas bars, ensaladilla is not simply served on a plate: it is assembled, molded, and decorated with the same care a pastry chef uses to crown a cake.

The classic shape: the mountain

The traditional bar presentation is the mountain or dome shape. With a large spoon or spatula, place the ensaladilla in the center of the plate and shape it into an elevated oval, like a small mound. Smooth the surface with the back of the spoon and spread a thin layer of mayonnaise over it, as if icing a cake. This layer of mayonnaise seals the surface, protects it from air, and gives it a lustrous, professional finish.

Classic decoration

On top of the mayonnaise dome, the canon requires at least one of these garnishes:

• Anchovy fillets: one or two Cantabrian anchovies arranged in a cross shape or in parallel on the top. The salty-umami contrast of the anchovy with the smoothness of the ensaladilla is spectacular.
• Cooked prawn: a peeled prawn cut in half, placed on the peak. Instantly elevates the tapa from popular to premium. Selected gourmet prawns are ideal for this use.
• Red pepper strips: piquillo pepper or bell pepper cut into thin strips, forming a pattern on the surface.
• Hard-boiled egg slices: thinly sliced and arranged around the base or on top of the dome.
• Olives: stuffed with anchovy or pepper, placed on the sides.

The final touch: paprika

A light dusting of sweet La Vera paprika over the mayonnaise surface adds color, a subtle smoky aroma, and that traditional bar tapa look that says "they know what they're doing here." Don't overdo it: a pinch is enough. Paprika is intense, and too much can be bitter.

Modern presentation

For more formal dinners or events, you can use a plating ring to make individual cylindrical portions, perfectly smooth. Unmold, cover with a spoonful of mayonnaise, an anchovy, and a sprig of fresh dill. It's the same ensaladilla as always but with an effortless restaurant finish that impresses.

Modern variations

Russian salad allows for almost infinite interpretations without losing its essence. Chefs across Spain have revisited this classic with premium ingredients and modern techniques. Here are the most interesting variations.

Russian salad with prawns

The premium version par excellence. Replace the tuna with cooked and chopped prawns or, even better, combine both proteins. Prawns provide sweetness, a meaty texture that contrasts with the softness of the potato, and a touch of elegance that transforms a bar tapa into a restaurant dish. Cook the prawns for only 2-3 minutes in boiling salted water with a bay leaf, cool them in ice water, peel and chop them. Reserve some whole ones to crown the ensaladilla. Selected gourmet prawns are perfect for this version.

Russian salad with octopus

Very popular in Galicia and in new cuisine bars. Replace the tuna with cooked octopus cut into small cubes. The gelatinous texture of the octopus provides a unique contrast. To enhance the flavor, dress the octopus cubes with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and paprika before incorporating them into the ensaladilla. The result is a tapa that surprises and delights.

Russian salad with avocado

A contemporary variation that works surprisingly well. Add half a ripe avocado cut into cubes to the mixture just before adding the mayonnaise. The avocado provides extra creaminess and a mild flavor that doesn't compete with the other ingredients. The key: use firm avocado that doesn't fall apart when mixed, and add it at the end to maintain its shape. You can also replace part of the mayonnaise with a cream of mashed avocado and lemon.

Light Russian salad with Greek yogurt

For those looking for a lighter version, replace half of the mayonnaise with natural Greek yogurt (unsweetened). Yogurt provides creaminess with far fewer calories and a refreshing acidic touch. Don't replace all the mayonnaise: without it, the ensaladilla loses the creaminess that defines it. The ideal proportion is 60% mayonnaise and 40% Greek yogurt.

Seafood salad

The festive version for special occasions. Replace the tuna with a combination of prawns, mussels, and diced surimi or cooked hake. It's an ensaladilla that borders on seafood salpicón but with the potato and mayonnaise base that keeps it in the ensaladilla family. Decorate with whole prawns, a few drops of cocktail sauce, and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Conclusion

Russian salad is not just a recipe: it's a gastronomic heritage that every family, every bar, and every cook interprets in their own way. What all good versions share is the same: quality ingredients, a well-emulsified homemade mayonnaise, vegetables cooked just right, and respect for a dish that has been on our tables for over a century.

You don't have to be a chef to make a memorable ensaladilla. You need patience to cook each vegetable separately, rigor to drain each ingredient well, generosity with the mayonnaise, and discipline to let it rest overnight before serving. These are small details that separate mediocre ensaladilla from the one that makes your guests ask for more.

And if you don't have time one day but want an ensaladilla done right, our Traditional Russian Salad with Tuna from Bacalalo is ready to open, serve, and enjoy. Made with the same ingredients and the same care you would put in at home. Because at Bacalalo del Mercat del Ninot, we've been doing things well since 1990, and Russian salad is no exception.

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