Shuba with Salmon, a twist on Herring Salad

Shuba ( салат шуба)means fur coat. This salad looks like one, hence the name. Originally this salad is made with herring. I know many people are turned off by the herring, while others love it. I used to be able to eat it until one day, my brother-in-law, Slavik, made it. It was quite tasty and I could not resist. However, I didn’t exactly think things through. I had that for breakfast the day after I had my wisdom teeth pulled and was on Vicodin for pain (side effect: nausea); it gets better. We decided to drive into the mountains (a two hour, windy road) to go mushroom picking. So to cut a nasty story short, I can no longer eat the original herring salad (shuba).

The idea to use smoked salmon actually came from my sister Tanya, who I believe is not a fan of the herring either. It’s so much better than herring! It’s the most bazaar salad to those who haven’t seen it. My husbands co-workers tried it; ”What is it?” asks one; “I don’t know, but it’s good!” You can make the veggies ahead of time and assemble when you’re good and ready.

Cost to Make: $7 to $9
Servings: 12

Ingredients for Shuba:
1 pound smoked salmon
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 to 4 medium potatoes
3 to 4 medium beets, (or use 2 cans beets which don’t require cooking)
4 medium carrots
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups real mayonnaise (2 cups if using a very large casserole).

How  Make Shuba with Salmon:

1. If you want to cook your own beets: In one pot, place beets in boiling water (enough water to cover the beets). Boil 1 hour, or until soft when pierced with a knife. The cooking time varies depending on your beets. Some will cook sooner than others, so test all of them. When cooked, remove from boiling water and let cool to room temperature. Peel the cooked beets (I use gloves for this).
2. In a separate pot, boil whole potatoes and carrots 30 minutes, or until smooth when pierced with a knife. Don’t overcook. When cooked, remove from boiling water and let cool to room temperature. Peel the cooked potatoes and carrots. It’s easiest to peel carrots by putting a slit down the length of the carrot and peeling in a circle around the carrot.

3. Place eggs in another pot of salted cold water and bring them to a boil. Once the water is boiling, place the lid on, turn heat off and let the pot sit on the same  burner for 15 minutes. (Or you can throw them in with your potatoes and carrots and fish them out after 15 minutes. Let eggs cool to room temperature. Peel the eggs.

LAYERS OF SHUBA:
1. Break or chop the salmon into quarter size pieces place evenly in the bottom of a large 13×9 casserole dish.

2. Using a cheese grater, shred the potatoes evenly over the salmon & spread onion over potatoes.

3. Spread ¾ cup mayo evenly over the onions.

4. Using the same cheese grater, shred the beets evenly over the mayo.

5. Then shred the carrots evenly over the beets.

6. Spread the remaining ¾ cup mayo over the carrots.

7. Using the smaller holes of the cheese grater, shred the eggs evenly over the mayo and you’re done.