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Nothing celebrates culture quite like the act of cooking a traditional dish. And nothing is easier to cook with kids than a classic, easy salad! Olivier Salad, or Olivye Salat in Russian, is a delicious and simple dish which originated in Russia and is now popular in former soviet countries throughout the world.
This dish is great for exposing youngsters to a staple of Russian cuisine without forcing them too far outside their comfort zones. The ingredients--ham, eggs, potatoes, carrots, peas, pickles, onions, cucumber, and mayonnaise—are familiar enough to young palates. The preparation method is so simple that any ingredient can be left out or substituted to satisfy picky eaters. If your little one is particularly averse to mayonnaise, for example, sour cream or cream cheese can easily be subbed in.
Russian Olivier Salad (Olivye Salat)
Makes 3 Servings
Ingredients:
• ½ cup cubed, cooked ham or cubed bologna
• 1 potato, boiled and cubed
• 1 carrot, boiled and cubed
• 2 eggs, boiled and cubed
• 1/4 dill pickle, cubed
• 1/4 sweet onion, cubed
• 1/4 cup frozen fresh peas,
• 1/4 cucumber cubed
• 1/4 cup mayo
• dill to taste
• salt and pepper, to taste
Method of Preparation:
1. After boiling, cooling, and chopping all cooked ingredients, combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
2. Serve chilled. Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Learning While Cooking
In order to turn the cooking experience into a learning one, we recommend laying out the prepared ingredients before mixing for younger children, or allowing older children to assist in preparatory tasks such as peeling potatoes, eggs, etc. While looking at or preparing each ingredient with your child, instruct them on the Russian language name for each ingredient.
The table below contains the English language names of the ingredients, the Cyrillic Russian names, the Transliteration into the English alphabet, and a pronunciation guide.
English Word Russian Word Transliteration Easy Pronunciation Guide
Potato Картофель Kartofel Kar-tov-el
Carrot Морковь Morkov Mar-kov
Egg Яйцо Yaytso Yay-tsos
Pickle Соленый огурец Solenyy Ogurets Sol-yon-ay Og-yuh-rets
Onion Лук Luk Loog
Peas Горох Gorokh Guh-roak
Cucumber Огурец Ogurets Og-yuh-rets
Mayonnaise Майонез Mayonez May-on-ez
Dill Укроп Ukrop Oog-rope
Salt Соль Sol Sole
Pepper Перец Perets Pay-rets
Incorporate the Russian word for each ingredient into a reading of the recipe, a guessing game, or practical conversation (“Pass the Sol’!”). You can also make the information in the chart above into flashcards or, better yet, turn it into an arts and crafts project. While the Olivier Salad chills, have your kids make Russian language menus for their special Russian luncheon. They can practice writing Cyrillic letters on one side and then compare with the English language version they make on the other side. If they’re really catching on, you can challenge them to make a key to break the “code” of the Cyrillic alphabet by comparing the two sides of their menu. You’ll be surprised how quickly language learning can take place when it’s incorporated into activities like cooking!
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