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My husband makes this version of the famous olivye salad. The chives and dill add a nice element of freshness. The great thing about Russian and Ukrainian cooking – there is no one right way to make any recipe. Each family has their own version which get passed down through generations.
This olivye recipe really is the best I’ve tried. It takes some time to dice everything, but in the end you get the best potato salad that lasts almost a week in the fridge.
Ingredients for Olivye (potato salad):
1 pound of ham
3 medium potatoes
4 medium carrots.
1 (15 oz) can sweet peas, drained or 2 cups of thawed frozen peas
5 boiled eggs
5 medium-large pickles (I use Vlasic)
1/3 cup chopped green onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
3/4 cup to 1 cup mayo (to taste)
Salt and Pepper (to taste)
How to Make Olivye Potato Salad:
1. In the same pot, boil whole unpeeled potatoes and carrots for about 30 minutes, or until knife pierces them smoothly. Don’t let them get too soft.
2. In a separate pot put eggs in salted cold water. Bring to a boil, turn it off and leave it on the same burner with the lid on for 15 minutes (Remember this; it’s how to make the perfect hard-boiled eggs!!) Cool them down in cold water.
3. Remove the vegetables and eggs from boiling water and allow them to cool to room temperature prior to chopping. Skin the boiled potatoes and carrots with a small knife. It’s easier to skin the carrots if you make a slit down the length of the carrot and skin in a circle around the carrot. (One of the readers suggested alternative method for cooking carrots and potatoes. She said to try dicing raw carrots and potatoes then boiling them together about 12 min in unsalted water. Rinse with cold water and drain well on paper towels. Easy and consistent results!)
4. Chop ham, potatoes, carrots, pickles and eggs into equal size dice (pea size). The Vidalia Chop Wizard
5. Mix together potatoes, carrots, pickles, eggs, green onion, dill and mayo. Add more mayo, Salt and pepper to taste.
6. Fold in the peas last so they aren’t crushed.
If you prefer more onion, pickles, or anything else; add more. Its easy to modify this recipe!
Enjoy!! If you make olivye, let me know what is unique about your salad.
Olivye - Ukrainian Potato Salad - Olivier
Ingredients
- 1 lb ham
- 3 medium potatoes
- 4 medium carrots
- 15 oz peas, drained
- 5 boiled eggs
- 5 pickles, (medium-large) I use Vlasic brand
- 1/3 cup green onion, chopped
- 1/4 cup dill, chopped
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise, or to taste
- Salt and Pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In the same pot, boil whole unpeeled potatoes and carrots for about 30 minutes, or until knife pierces them smoothly. Don't let them get too soft.
- In a separate pot put eggs in salted cold water. Bring to a boil, turn it off and leave it on the same burner with the lid on for 15 minutes. Cool them down in cold water.
- Remove the vegetables and eggs from boiling water and allow them to cool to room temperature prior to chopping.
- Skin the boiled potatoes and carrots with a small knife. It's easier to skin the carrots if you make a slit down the length of the carrot and skin in a circle around the carrot.
- Chop ham, potatoes, carrots, pickles and eggs into equal size dice (pea size).
- Mix together potatoes, carrots, pickles, eggs, green onion, dill and mayo. Add more mayo, Salt and pepper to taste.
- Fold in the peas last so they aren't crushed. If you prefer more onion, pickles, or anything else; add more. Its easy to modify this recipe!
Enjoy!!
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Hey!!! I love salat olivier!!!! A Russian salad invented by a french man 😛 when you use the gherkins do you use whole? The recipe calls for 5 medium/large gherkins but do you mean whole? I am sorry I travel so frequently that I get confused with measurements. Every country has its own terminology.
Rockey, I used whole gherkins and just diced them up :). This salad never gets old, we just had some at our picnic yesterday on the lake :).
Natasha what kind of ham are you using for this salad?
Thank you
I think it may have been a hickory him or a black forest ham. Either one will work well. Honey him is not my favorite because it’s a tiny bit too sweet for the salad. But that would work too if that is all you have.
Natasha, what kind of ham are you using?
Thank you!
I prefer hickory or black forest. Honey ham isn’t my favorite because it’s a teensy bit too sweet for this salad, but even if you used honey ham, it still tastes great 🙂
This version is almost the same as what we do. Only no carrots and pickles, and we have apple in it. So it taste fresh 🙂 Maybe I should try it this way when we have the next birthday to celebrate. It seems very nice !
I guess I should try it with Apple! Thanks for sharing your version. 🙂
Very close to Polish vegetable salad, jut no ham in the Polish one.
Is there any meat in the Polish version of the salad?
I made this, this is soo good recipe! I was thinking agh long to make but when I started making it it wasn’t too long me I was doing other stuff while potatoes and eggs cooking or preparing and cutting bologna while that cooks.. Thanks Natasha for great Recipe haven’t eaten this or made this for a long time but I have a lot of time during the day to cook great food glad I came along this website and glad Russian/Ukrainian food still exists. LOL I love Russian food looking forward to looking into your So glad you made this website :))
I’m so glad you are enjoying the website and recipes! 🙂 I have recipes from all over the world featured here, but my first food love will always be Russian/Ukrainian food!
When boiling potatoes for this salad I cut them into cubes while they are raw, and add one table spoon of vinegar when boiling. The potatoes need to be boiled for about five minutes once the water comes to a boil. The vinegar prevents the potatoe cubes from falling apart. Super easy! And the cubes look perfect.
That’s a great tip Nadia, I have to try this next time I’ll make Olivye :). Thank you for sharing your tip.
Hi, Natasha! Thanks for always posting such great recipes! Check out my salads at http://thebestisyettocook.wordpress.com/! I made one with beets and another with cabbage. Thanks!
Thanks for sharing Sophia, I look forward to exploring your blog :).
Hi Natasha,
I just came across your channel on YouTube just recently with this recipe. I am Polish European and we also have the same type of salad for us it’s called “Salatka Jarzynowa” or Vegetable salad in English. You got great recipes on here can’t wait to try them out..:)
Thank you Ania! I think the Polish and Ukrainian cuisines have alot in common. Do you know of any great polish food blogs that you could recommend? Or have any Polish recipes you’d like to share? I’d love to try more polish foods.
yesterday – Zuppa Toscana ); today – Olivye.
Great Job, Natasha !
Keep it up. Very impressed with your dedication. Thanks a lot.
I’m so glad you’re enjoying the recipes! You are on a roll! 🙂
Delicious and reminds me of growing up in Russia. The only thing I did different is add a bit of pickle juice and sunflower oil (as unfiltered as you can get–I get mine from a Russian store nearby) at the end before mixing, made it taste super authentic!
That’s so great! Thank you for sharing that with me.
thank you so much for sharing your version of this yummy salad. It worked out really perfectly. my husband is extremely picky regarding the food choice. He really appreciated it. Spasibo ogromnoje Natasha
You’re so very welcome 🙂 I’m so happy you and your hubby liked it!
This looks incredible! Do you know approximately how many cups total this will make? Thank you!
Hmmmm,… honestly I’ve never measured. I think maybe 10 cups?
I make a thing like this but I don’t call it Olivier salad because I do not always use potatoes (because I am pre-diabetic and I would like to keep the “pre” in there, so I eat less starchy foods). Instead, I use turnips and/or cauliflower.
I also rarely use ham: I use whatever’s on hand, and ham is rarely on hand. I have made it with any kind of meat (in my house that usually means chicken, but I have used beef and lamb and tuna from a can) and without any.meat. Beans of any type, sometimes from a can and sometimes cooked from dry, can slip in there.
And I add in whatever vegetables I feel like using. Sometimes if fresh veggies are scarce I’ll use a frozen vegetable mixture.
Can you see why I don’t call it by the same name, even if I am thinking “Olivier” in my mind?
Those sound like some very tasty substitutions! Thanks for sharing and yes, I can totally see why you don’t always call it olivier. 🙂
In Georgia we love this salad and make it just the same way as described in your recipe though with one difference, we don’t put any kind of meat at all. Tastes awesome. :)))
Oh a vegetarian version! I bet it tastes great! 🙂
I make the olyvie salad just like you but instead of canned peas i use frozen steamed peas to give it that more green and It tastes a little more crunchy.
That’s a very good option as well.
One more thing, have never used ham in my ‘Polish Salad’ but definitely will next time. Thanks for the idea.
Hi Natahsa, This looks fantastic! Thank you for sharing this recipe. Polish people call this Polish Salad. :o) I just have a question about your chopper, your pieces look so perfect – do you slice the veggies first and then dice them in the chopper?
Yes, I slice them first to the thickness I want and then use the Vidalia chopper that I reference above 🙂
Making this salad today. Its my husband’s favorite! Only thing I do differently is add a cup of thawed peas from the freezer. To make it thaw fast you can add to warm water for a few minutes. Got the idea from my mom and it tastes very good:)
Thank you for the tip Oksana, fresh peas also give more vibrant color to the salad :).
I have a suggestion for Olivye. If yours is too runny, try putting chopped pickles on dry paper towel (i usually fold it), in a separate bowl. and change the paper towel a few times, until its almost dry! and put them in when ready to mix everything together. It works for me!! I hope this will help someone!! 🙂
That is a great tip! Thank you! 🙂
What is vegenaise ? Since we eat very little meat in our ome–I need suggestions for other non-meat items to add.
Thanks,
Sally
Vegenaise is dairy free eggless mayonnaise. You can make this salad without meat. Does anyone have any suggestions for non-meat items to add?
Sally,
Just experiment I say.One week you can have this salad without meat. Another week add cauliflower or broccoli. Have fun.
Sally,
Once I used shrimp instead of meat. It worked perfectly!
An original recipe actually calls for chicken and an apple for this salad.
But any kind of meat works great and any modifications are worth to try.