Festive Beef Salad
Beef salad is a traditional Romanian festive side dish present on the dinner table at all major holidays. Easy to make and looking impressive, it will be the centerpiece on you festive table!
Ingredients
- 6-7 large potatoes
- 4-5 carrots
- 1 celeriac
- 2-3 parsnips
- 300 g peas
- 500 g diced beef
- 1 jar mayonnaise (small, about 250 g)
- 2 tbsp mustard
- 1 jar pickled gherkins
- 1 jar pickled bell-peppers
- 15-20 pitted olives
- 1-2 eggs
- sea salt
- pepper
Instructions
- In a large pan, boil the meat first, changing the water at least once.
- Add the peeled carrots, celeriac (quartered), parsnips and potatoes and boil until ready. Check with a fork that everything is thoroughly cooked.
- On a large chopping board, chop all the vegetables (after they cool down) and mix in a large bowl (or a large pan.)
- For food safety, use a different chopping board to chop the meat. Place the beef into the mixing bowl with the vegetables.
- Drain the pickles, save a few for decorating and finely chop the rest. Squeeze out the excess liquid before adding them to the mixing bowl.
- Finely cut long pieces of pickles and place them on a piece of absorbent paper. Leave aside until you get to the decorating part.
- Boil the eggs for at least 6 minutes, peel and remove the yolks. You will only need the whites, finely cut, to decorate the salad.
- Cut the olives in halves or rings and leave them aside with the pickles.
- Empty half of the mayo jar onto the chopped vegetables, add mustard, salt and pepper and mix with a large wooden spoon without crushing it too much.
- Place the mix on a large plateau and use a knife to give it a beautiful, regular shape.
- Use the rest of the mayo to cover the salad, top and side.
- Decorate with the finely chopped pickles, egg whites, olives and boiled peas.
- Refrigerate before use.
Notes
All the ingredients I use are organic. Beyond my refusal to eat pesticides, I want to feel the real taste of food, something to remind me of my childhood.
If you use frozen peas, boil them separately for 2-3 minutes and mix them with the rest of the vegetables.
You can mix the boiled egg yolks with the vegetables before adding the mayo.
Bon appetite!