I belong to a dinner club and the host of the next get together in April has chosen the Ukraine for her theme.  She is making home made perogys and cabbage rolls.  Another friend will be bringing an appetizer and someone else dessert.  It is my turn to bring the salad and I cannot seem to find any kind of salad recipes that would compliment this menu.  Can someone help me?

Welcome Jane to Ukrainian Classic Kitchen

I have posted below a few recipes for you. Ukrainians make very simple salads with lettuce, tomatoes, String Bean, cucumbers, onions, beets and herring salads.

SPRING SALAD:

1/2 head lettuce or leaf lettuce
1 cup sliced radishes
1 cup sliced cucumbers
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/3 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup French Dressing or 1/2 cup sour cream

Wash the lettuce, pat dry, and chop it coarsely.  Toss all the vegetables together along with the salt and dressing.  Arrange in a salad bowl and garnish with tomato wedges or slices.

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String Bean, Asparagus and Mushroom Salad:

2 cups cooked string beans
2 cups cooked asparagus tips
French Dressing
1/2 cup or more pickled mushrooms

Marinate the string beans and asparagus tips in French dressing until well seasoned.  Take care not to break the asparagus tips.  Drain off the dressing.  Add the mushrooms to the vegetables and toss them lightly.  Arrange the salad attractively in a salad bowl.  Garnish with radish slices, placing them in an overlapping manner around the salad.  Sprinkle the top with a hard cooked egg yolk pressed through a sieve.

FRENCH DRESSING:

1/3 cup cooking oil
2 tablespoons vinegar or lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon sugar, if desired
1/2 teaspoon onion juice or 1/2 clove garlic, if desired
Additional seasonings, if desired

Measure the ingredients into a jar or bottle with a close fitting top.  Cover and shake vigorously.  Chill thoroughly.  Before using, shake again to form a thick emulsion.  This dressing should always be in a an emulsified state when served.

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ONION SALAD:

Peel and cut a mild onion into very thin slices.  Sprinkle it with salt and very mild vinegar.  Let it marinate for about 15 minutes.  Drain thoroughly.  Arrange the onion on lettuce leaves, put a spoonful of sour cream in the centre, and then sprinkle it with paprika.  


ONION , PEPPER AND TOMATO SALAD:

Follow the preceding recipe, but marinate the onion along with a green pepper cut into slices or strips.  When ready to serve, separate the onion, slices into rings and add a firm, sliced tomato to the salad.  This salad is very colorful and popular.

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STUFFED TOMATO SALAD:

Select small or medium tomatoes of uniform size, allowing one tomato to a serving.  Wash the tomatoes and pat them dry.  Remove a slice from the top of each tomato, then scoop out part of the pulp.  Sprinkle the inside of the tomato shells with salt and invert to drain for a few minutes.  Prepare any favourite combination of chopped, raw vegetables.  Moisten the vegetables with a salad dressing.  Fill the tomato shells with this mixture, then garnish the top with chopped parsley.  Serve each tomato on a lettuce leaf.

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STUFFED BEET SALAD:

Prepare and cook the required number of medium beets.  Cut off the stems 1 inch above the beets, but leave the roots intact.  Wash the beets thoroughly.   Cover with boiling water, place a tight fitting lid, and cook them until tender. Slip of the skins. Cut a slice from the top of each beet and scoop out the pulp, leaving a shell.  The pulp may be used as a vegetable for another meal.  Cut a thin slice off the bottom to make the beets stand upright.  Prepare a filling of chopped celery, cucumbers, and cabbage, and moisten the vegetables with a salad dressing.  Fill the beet shells with this mixture.  Garnish the top with a sieved, cooked egg yolk.  Serve the beets on lettuce.

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LETTUCE SALAD:

1 small head lettuce or leaf lettuce
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup sour cream, chilled
1 Tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 hard cooked eggs

Separate the lettuce leaves, wash them thoroughly, and pat dry.  Cut the lettuce into coarse pieces and add the onions.  Combine the cream with the lemon juice or vinegar, and salt.  Pour it over the lettuce and toss lightly to coat the pieces.  Arrange the salad in a bowl and garnish with the hard cooked eggs cut into quarters.

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Ukrainian Cucumber Salad (Mizeria)

This is a Ukrainian favourite.

4-6 medium cucumbers
1 teaspoon salt
1 onion or 3 scallions
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup vinegar
1 tablespoons sugar
Chopped parsley

Wash and score fresh unwaxed cucumbers lengthwise with a fork, or peel cucumbers.  Slice into thin rounds, sprinkle with salt, and let stand for 10 minutes or so.  Slice onion or scallions into thin rounds.  Mix sour cream, vinegar, and sugar.  Pour off liquid from cucumbers, add onion, pour dressing over all, mix, and chill.  Sprinkle with parsley before serving.

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Cucumber Salad

3 cups peeled and sliced cucumbers
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons salt

3 hard cooked eggs
1/2 teaspoon sugar
dash of pepper
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons vinegar
1 teaspoon dill weed


Marinate the cucumber in vinegar and salt overnight in the refrigerator.  Slice eggs to remove the yolks; set yolk aside. Slice the whites and add to the cucumbers.  Mash the yolks with a fork and add the sugar, pepper, and mustard.  Blend in the sour cream and vinegar.  Toss mixture with the cucumber and egg whites. Serve on lettuce leaves and sprinkle with dill. Serves four.

Ukrainian Recipes

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Cucumbers in Sour Cream

3 cucumbers (about 10 ounces each)
2 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup dairy sour cream
2 green onions with tops, thinly sliced
2 Tablespoons drained capers (rinsed)
1 1/2 teaspoons snipped fresh dill
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon snipped fresh dill, if desired

Pare thin lengthwise strips from cucumbers at 1/2 inch intervals.  Cut cucumbers crosswise into thin slices. Sprinkle with salt; let stand 1 hour.  Drain; pat dry on paper towelling.  

Combine sour cream, green onions, capers, 1 1/2 teaspoons dill, the sugar and pepper.  Toss cucumbers with sour cream mixture.  Refrigerate covered 1 hour.  Garnish with 1/2 teaspoon dill.  Makes about 3 cups.

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UKRAINIAN BEET AND PICKLE SALAD ( Taratuta)

Taratuta was a traditional salad served during the first week of lent in eastern Ukraine. Cooked beets, pickles, and onions make a colorful presentation.

8 medium beets
3 dill pickles
1 large onion
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
3 tablespoons oil

Scrub beets, trim off tops, cover with water, and cook until just tender. Cool and peel. (Or use drained canned beets.) slice beets, pickles, and onions thinly into uniform rounds. Mix drained horseradish with oil, pour over vegetables, and toss. Serve on a bed of lettuce.

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GREENS WITH BACON DRESSING: (Salata z solonynoiu)

The greens for this salad were usually a mixture of leaf lettuce such as Boston or bib, a sprinkling of young nettle leaves for flavor, endive, or beet greens.

4-6 cups washed lettuce or other leaf greens
1 cup arugula or other tough greens or young beet leaves
8 slices bacon
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 teaspoons salt

Remove stems of greens and chop leaves. Cut bacon into 1 inch pieces and fry until crisp. Pour off all but 1/2 cup fat, add vinegar, sugar, and salt, and bring to a boil.

To serve, pour dressing over greens, toss once, and serve.

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BEET SALAD

3 pounds beets
1/2 cup white wine vinegar, or white vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
Pinch of caraway seeds
1 tablespoon freshly grated horseradish (about 2 inches of the root, depending on its thickness)
1 head of lettuce

Cook whole beets in plenty of water.  Depending on the age of beets, it will take anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour.

When beets are tender, drain and peel them and cut them into julienne strips.  Mix together vinegar, sugar, salt, mustard, caraway seeds and horseradish.  Adjust the sugar and salt to your own taste.  Marinate beets in the dressing overnight.

When ready to serve, form cups out of the lettuce leaves and fill them with 3 or 4 tablespoons of the beet salad; or put the beet salad on a large platter and encircle it with lettuce leaves.  Do not use the liquid.

For a very elegant service, use small heads of Boston type lettuce; remove centers and fill heads with beet salad.  Serve one to a person.  For 4 persons you will need 4 heads of lettuce.  Serves 6-8.

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Ukrainian Herring Salad

2 prepared herring fillets
1 cup cooked diced potatoes
1 cup cooked diced beets
1 tart apple, chopped
1 dill pickle, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped onion
Pepper
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 hard cooked egg, sliced
Parsley or scallions

Wash the herrings thoroughly and soak in cold water for 2 or 3 hours, changing the water twice. Remove the head, tail, and entrails. Remove the skin and bones. Rinse the fillets well and drain.

Chop the fillets coarsely. Combine with the cooked and diced potatoes, beets, apple, pickle, and onion. Season with pepper. Mix the sour cream with the vinegar. Toss the salad ingredients lightly, and gradually add the cream dressing. Garnish with the egg slices and chopped parsley or scallions.

WOW!  Thank you so much for all the salad recipes!  They sound delicious and will be sure to compliment the dinner.  My biggest problem will be deciding which one to make (I may have to bring two).  Thanks again!