Olivier salad with spicy mayonnaise
Prepare the mayonnaise in a blender. Peel and mince the garlic. Beat the egg yolk with the mustard, add the garlic and salt. While whisking, gradually add the olive oil. If you use high-quality oil, the sauce will be very thick; you can thin it with 2–3 tablespoons of warm boiled water. Add the juice of half a lemon, stir, and refrigerate.
Step 2
Wash the potatoes and boil them in their skins until tender. Let them cool, then peel and dice them. Wash the pickles, peel them, and dice them into similar cubes.
Step 3
Slice the olives and chop the capers. Mix the potatoes with the pickles, capers, and olives, add 2 tablespoons of the prepared mayonnaise, cover, and let sit for 30–40 minutes.
Step 4
Meanwhile, wash, peel, and dice the fresh cucumbers. Dice the chicken breast as well.
Step 5
Chop the eggs into crumbs. Add the cucumbers, eggs, and chicken to the potatoes and mix well. Dress the salad with mayonnaise, reserving some for garnish. Transfer to a salad bowl. Top with another 1–2 tablespoons of mayonnaise. Garnish with shrimp or crayfish tails.
New Year's without Olivier salad? No way. It wouldn't even be New Year's. Olivier salad is so renowned in our country that it's become something of a brand, a signature item. And don't believe anyone who, when you mention it...
Salads with mayonnaise are one of the pillars of Soviet cuisine. Incredibly filling, with meat or fish as an obligatory ingredient, they were not just an appetizer, but a complete meal.
Traditional New Year's recipes for 2026 with photos are recipes for a truly festive and cheerful atmosphere. After all, what do we dream of on the eve of the New Year? Of course, a miracle and a truly festive feast with family and friends. And now, our little dreams are coming true.
Are you tired of Olivier salad yet? How about adding apple mayonnaise? The idea is simply brilliant, as this salad has a truly unique and incredibly fresh flavor that will captivate even those who aren't usually fond of traditional Olivier salad (yes, they exist!). Furthermore, we're using poached frozen peas instead of canned, and lightly salted cucumbers instead of pickled ones. Plus, the juicy flesh of the chicken thighs also adds to the freshness of the dish! The result is a truly incomparable Olivier salad with apple mayonnaise, which might just knock traditional Olivier off the top spot as your favorite family New Year's dish.
We can't even imagine a New Year's table without New Year's salads—Olivier, mimosa, and herring under a fur coat. But you don't have to limit yourself to the traditional salads...
For many, Olivier salad with cooked sausage is a symbol of the New Year holidays, and with them, Defender of the Fatherland Day, March 8th, and many other festive feasts. Now people are making Olivier salad with chicken, meat, turkey, and some even indulge in a vegetarian version of this favorite salad. Any variation is welcome! We often make this version of the salad, but we carefully select the sausage for it. The best option is Doctor's sausage!
Making mayonnaise in a blender is incredibly easy, and the result will undoubtedly provide you with a truly wonderful culinary experience. This sauce can be used as a dressing for all kinds of salads and as a complement to meat, fish, and vegetable appetizers. The base of the sauce is fresh egg yolks and olive oil—refined olive oil, of course. The latter is crucial! Extra virgin olive oil can impart a rather rich, perhaps even sharp, flavor to blended mayonnaise, which isn't to everyone's taste.
Winter Olivier salad is simply perfect for a New Year's or Christmas feast; it's so filling and delicious. It's all about the meat. We suggest using not just sausage or boiled beef, but a whole assortment, the ingredients of which you can change or add to as desired. Pork ham, pork chop, pork neck... even bacon! Either way, it's sure to be delicious. And green onions and dill are sure to add a fresh touch to this meaty mess. Just be sure to let the Winter Olivier salad rest in the refrigerator before serving: its flavor will become more intense.
Which is the classic Olivier salad? The classic recipe is the one Lucien Olivier allegedly used a century and a half ago at the Hermitage restaurant in Moscow. It included hazel grouse, veal tongue, crayfish tails, and pressed caviar... However, for some reason, the recipe for that legendary salad has not survived, and the identity of the French chef is dubious and shrouded in myth. Therefore, it's much more reasonable to consider the "Soviet" version of Olivier—the staple of the New Year's feast—the classic. The paradox of this salad is that it's made from the simplest ingredients, yet typically only for the holiday. Some people eat much more interesting and original salads on ordinary days, but make Olivier for New Year's. You can't argue with tradition. And why blame tradition when Olivier is truly a delicious and brilliantly balanced salad? Yes, it's high in calories, yes, it has mayonnaise, but yes, it's shamefully beloved by 99 percent of the country's population. It would seem, why would it need a recipe if every family makes it? Or, perhaps, for those new to the dish who find themselves away from family for New Year's. The main recommendation: use roughly equal amounts of all ingredients; you can't go wrong. Don't add twice as much potatoes as you would with the rest of the ingredients, or half as much sausage. And you'll be happy.
Olivier salad with meat will quite rightfully raise the question from everyone at the table: "What holiday is it today?" Indeed, this dish is very different from the traditional version precisely because of its main ingredient. After all, gourmet beef is a special case! But you must admit, delighting your loved ones with something delicious isn't just for holidays. Moreover, all the other ingredients in Olivier salad with meat are quite affordable. However, we are confident that you'll love this version of the salad so much that when the conversation turns to, say, a New Year's feast, you'll definitely plan a trip to the store to buy the right cut of beef.
The classic Soviet Olivier salad is the subject of much debate about what's included and what's strictly forbidden. Let's start with the fact that there was never a state standard for Olivier salad in the Soviet Union, meaning there was no clearly established composition. Soviet Olivier salad is a truly popular mega-dish, an essential part of any New Year's table, but every housewife's salad had a different flavor. Do they add onions to Olivier salad? This is a key question. Most people would vote against it, while others prefer the juicy, spicy accent in the otherwise soft salad. Rarely does anyone ask whether eggs are needed in Olivier salad, because the answer is obvious: of course they are. But people literally fight over carrots: "They ruin the flavor," "They add an unnecessary sweet note," "There never was any carrot"... And vice versa: "Where did they put the carrots?", "Bring them back to the Olivier salad!" Let's say what we think: carrots add a pleasant sweet note, and also make the salad look beautiful and appetizing. So it's a matter of taste. Pickled cucumbers or marinated? It depends on your preference! In Soviet times, people both fermented and pickled cucumbers. But green peas were often in short supply and became a stumbling block. You definitely can't make Olivier salad without canned peas. And finally, meat or sausage? During times of shortages, both were scarce. But with Soviet doctor's sausage, made according to GOST standards, it was delicious! So don't fight, boys and girls. Make Olivier salad according to our recipe and to your liking.
