Ensalada Rusa - Spanish Potato Salad
Backyard party - Ensalada Rusa
What is it about potatoes that people love so much? Well, they are easy to grow, and inexpensive to buy. They are tasty and can be colorful. But mostly, they are versatile. They are as delicious baked, roasted, steamed, boiled, mashed, fried or poached....to name just some of the ways we love them. They are the perfect canvas for many other flavors; a loaded baked potato with sour cream, chives and bacon, French fries with ketchup, mashed potatoes with butter, cream and truffles.
This simple tuber transcends borders and culinary ethnicities. And, although the humble star of this multi-cultural tuber dish is originally from South America, it has found its way around the world and into the tapestry of meals in almost every country. We all have a favorite potato dish, hot or cold, and we tend to be passionate about our potato salad recipes, especially the one Grandma used to make.
I’ve always preferred baked or roasted potatoes to mashed or fried, but if I had to choose only one way to eat them, it would be cold, in a potato salad. So when I discovered Ensalada Rusa, the Spanish Tapas version of potato salad, while in Spain visiting the Tavernas in Old Madrid, I was hooked. I love my Grandma’s old fashioned potato salad made with black olives, pickles, hard boiled eggs and celery, and the Rusa stays close to this salad cousin, using a slight variation of those ingredients and then, don’t judge, adds tuna. Yes, good canned tuna, and it is so delicious.
My daughter’s first Ensalada Rusa - Summer 2020 - Pretty darn cute!
There is one big difference between the two salads, and that is the visual presentation. It's the potato salad version of the city mouse and the country mouse, polished versus rustic. Instead of scooping it out of a bowl and plopping it on a plate, the Spanish version is molded carefully on a plate, then covered in homemade mayonnaise, and decorated with some of the main ingredients. It can actually be sliced, with a good knife. It is definitely a crowd-pleaser. It looks formal and frankly, in my mind, elevates any cook-out or picnic experience. It takes a little bit more time to decorate, but it’s fun to do and makes a great task for an eager kitchen helper. But, you can always skip the dome and decorating and serve it up family style at any picnic. It will be just as delicious.
Use your creativity to decorate the domed wonder. And enjoy!
My daughters did the final decorating on this recent Ensalada Rusa.
My daughter also made this plate for me one Mother’s day. It has the name of my original blogsite, “Around the table with Loretta” neatly written around the edge of the plate.
Variations on a theme…no salad is every identical.
