Russian potato salad

 I ate versions of this salad often when I was in Russia, and I have had a fierce craving for it lately.  It's mostly potatoes, with hardboiled eggs, carrots, pickles, and mayo.  Add in aromatics and meat if desired (ham is common). 

Ingredients

• 5 medium-large waxy potatoes (such as yukon gold)
• 3 carrots 
• 4 eggs
• peas - a can or thawed frozen 
• shallot or green onion or onion, finely diced 
• (celery if desired, cucumber, etc.) 
• ham or other meat (optional); I'll use some chicken sausage  
• pickles, 4-8 depending on size - lacto-fermented are best  
• mayonnaise (don't skimp); can substitute some of this out for yogurt or sour cream
• salt and pepper (check salt before adding, depending on pickles) 

Directions

Clean (and peel if desired) potatoes and carrots.* OR some say to let boil intact and then peel after.  Boil large pot of water, add potatoes for 10 minutes, then add eggs and carrots and boil another 10 minutes.  REmove eggs and vegetables and let cool.  

Dice potatoes and carrots.  Peel and dice hardboiled eggs and meat and pickles and any optionals. Mince onion and any herbs desired (such as dill). 

Stir everything together with mayo. 

 

*Note: some say to peel and chop first, others say to keep peels on and boil whole, others say to chill after boiling to make it easier to process them.