Vingret
is probably the most remembered dish from my childhood. This Russian salad was
on my Nanna’s dining room table every lunch and dinner that I spent there,
without fail. Most of the time the beetroot and potato came straight from her
garden and she had made the pickles by painstakingly reserving her homegrown
cucumbers in vinegar. The site of that blood red salad on her lace dining room tablecloth
never failed to excite me, as the vivid colours and sour taste would provide a
light escape from some of her heavier, yet still extremely tasty, Russian
dishes. As we live many kilometres away from each other now, Nanna in a chilly Victorian house ancient enough to have an outhouse and me in sunny Brisbane, I don’t get
to experience this salad quite as much as I would like. Every single time I
frequent Melbourne, however, my five foot nothing Nanna remembers to prepare this
special dish for me and I can’t help but remember my 4, 5, 6, 7 year old self in
her kitchen demanding more Vingret!
Our heritage is so precious and contains a vast array of transcendent memories. Try to cherish where you came from and learn
as much as you possibly can about your culture, as can you truly know with
absolute certainty where you are going if you do not know where you came from? Ps
love to you to pieces Nanna.
INGREDIENTS
- 2 large beetroot
- 2 large sebago potatoes
- 1/2- 3/4 500ml polski ogorkie pickles, diced
- 4 tablespoons gluten-free/dairy-free mayonnaise, such as Coles Simply Less Mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped, plus extra to serve
- 2 tablespoons fresh chives, finely chopped, plus extra to serve
- sea salt & ground black pepper
COOKING
1. Place beetroot in one medium saucepan and cover with water. Place potatoes in a separate medium saucepan and cover with water. Bring both saucepans to the boil, then reduce heat to medium and cover, cooking for 30-40 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Check the vegetables throughout the cooking process, as the potatoes will become tender several minutes before the beetroot. When tender, remove from heat and drain well with cold water. When cool enough to handle, peel potato and beetroot and dice into even sized small pieces.
2. Place diced potato and beetroot in a large serving bowl with diced pickles. (I like to use 3/4 of a 500ml pickle jar, however 1/2 may be plenty for some people; taste as you add the pickles to find out what you prefer). Add parsley and the mayonnaise and stir well to combine. If the vingret / salad is still quite floury from the potato, add slightly more mayonnaise or add a few tablespoons of the reserved pickle liquid. Season with sea salt and pepper and serve sprinkled with extra parsley leaves, if you desire.
Serves / 8 as a side
Total Preparation time / 4 minutes
Total Cooking time / 55 - 65 minutes
x Emily
No comments:
Post a Comment