Vinegret

Cold Dishes | Russian

Vinegret is a hearty salad made from boiled beets, potatoes, carrots, and also sauerkraut or pickled cucumbers and green or bulb onions. Sometimes a herring is added to the vinegret. Vinegret is seasoned with vegetable oil (rarely with mayonnaise). The name of the dish comes from the French vinaigrette sauce - salad dressing based on vinegar, olive oil and mustard (this is the best version of the salad filling) that was widely used in Europe and also in pre-revolutionary Russia. Vinaigrette appeared in Russian cuisine in the XIX century and is probably borrowed from German or Scandinavian cuisine. However, there is an earlier mention of this dish in Russia: a vinegret of herring and anchovies was described in a cookbook published in Moscow in 1792. The classic recipe for vinegret developed in the early 20th century and assumed a classical form in the Soviet period.

Ingredients

Light-salted herring – 150 g fillet
carrot – 2 big pcs.
potato – 2 big pcs.
pickled cucumbers – 3 medium-size pcs.
beet – 2 big pcs. For the sauce: sugar – 2 tbsp.
egg (yolk) – 2 pcs.
meat broth – 2 tbsp.
white dry wine – 2 tbsp.
mustard – 2 tbsp. (level)
vegetable oil – 2 tbsp.
vinegar – 2 tbsp.

Preparation method (receipt)

Scrub potatoes, beets and carrots and tightly wrap in foil severally; bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 40 minutes. Cool, peel and cut into small cubes. Put all the ingredients for the sauce in a saucepan, start heating and stir until the sauce thickens. Remove from fire just before boiling. Season with salt and pepper. You can reduce but not increase the amount of sugar. Peel cucumbers, clean off seeds and cut into cubes. Cut the herring into small cubes, mix with cucumbers and vegetables in a bowl. Dress the vinegret with mustard sauce.