Named for the Russian chef who created the dish in the 1860s, the Olivier Salad features a flavorful mix of diced meats and vegetables in leaves of endive and butter lettuce.
Olivier Salad
Serves: Makes 2 servings
Adapted from a recipe courtesy of Café Pouchkine
Ingredients
- For sauce:
- 6 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons honey Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- Pinch fine sea salt
- For salad:
- 1 quart water
- 3 tablespoons finely diced Yukon Gold potatoes
- 2 tablespoons finely diced carrots
- 3 tablespoons shelled fresh peas*
- 2 hard-cooked eggs, halved lengthwise
- 3 tablespoons finely diced cooked chicken breast
- 3 tablespoons finely diced smoked chicken breast
- 2 tablespoons finely diced beef pastrami
- 2½ tablespoons finely diced Granny Smith apples
- 20 cornichons, finely diced
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh chives
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh dill
- 1 teaspoon grapeseed oil
- 6 large or 12 medium frozen cooked crawfish tails, thawed
- Pinch fine sea salt
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cognac
- For serving:
- 12 leaves endive lettuce
- 8 small leaves butter lettuce
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- Pinch fleur de sel
- Pinch freshly ground black pepper
- 6 sprigs flat leaf parsley
Instructions
- For sauce: In a medium bowl, stir together mayonnaise, mustard, lemon zest, lemon juice, and sea salt. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
- For salad: In a large bowl, prepare an ice water bath.
- In a medium saucepan, bring 1 quart water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add potatoes and carrots, and blanch for 3 minutes in boiling water. Using a slotted spoon, transfer vegetables to ice water bath to stop the cooking process. Add peas to saucepan, and blanch for 1½ minutes in boiling water. Using a slotted spoon, transfer peas to ice water bath to stop the cooking process. Drain vegetables well.
- Separate egg yolks from whites. Using a spoon, push egg yolks through a fine-mesh sieve into a separate large bowl. Finely chop egg whites, and add to bowl with yolks. Add cooked and smoked chicken breast, pastrami, apples, cornichons, chives, dill, blanched vegetables, and sauce, gently stirring to combine. Divide chicken salad mixture into 2 portions.
- In a medium skillet, heat grapeseed oil over medium-high heat. Add crawfish, and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Season with sea salt. Stir in cognac, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, scraping browned bits from bottom of pan with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat. Cover skillet and let rest for 3 minutes. Let crawfish cool slightly. Transfer meat to a small bowl; discard any bits of shell.
- For serving: In a large bowl, add endive and butter lettuces. Drizzle with olive oil, and season with fleur de sel and pepper.
- In the center of a shallow serving bowl, place a 3-inch round cutter. Arrange 6 endive leaves along the interior wall of cutter, slightly overlapping, if necessary. Fill center of endive with a large scoop of 1 portion chicken salad mixture. Place a small scoop of chicken salad mixture in each of 4 butter leaves, and arrange, evenly spaced, around cutter. Gently remove cutter. Place 1 or 2 pieces seasoned crawfish in each of the 4 open areas between chicken salad–filled butter leaves. Repeat process with remaining endive leaves, chicken salad mixture, butter leaves, and crawfish pieces. Garnish with parsley, if desired. Serve immediately.
Notes
*Thawed frozen peas may be substituted for fresh; reduce blanching time to 30 seconds.
Note: For a smoother consistency, transfer chicken salad mixture to the work bowl of a food processor. Cover and pulse mixture until desired texture is achieved.
Note: For a smoother consistency, transfer chicken salad mixture to the work bowl of a food processor. Cover and pulse mixture until desired texture is achieved.
