Shuba - Layered Russian Beet Salad with Herring
This is one of the most beloved fish salads in our home, and no celebration is complete without it. With simple and cost-effective ingredients, this dish is a perfect combination of flavors. Here, I present the classic version, along with some tips in the final step on how to enhance and modify it.
Prepare the vegetables for the salad:
Boil the potatoes with the skins on, along with the carrots, for about 40 minutes. Let them cool and peel.
Boil the beets in water for about 1 hour, then cool and peel.
Clean and wash the onion.
Traditionally (though not a must), Shuba is assembled on elongated plates to mimic the shape of fish.
Feel free to use any decorative plate you have.
The first layer of the salad is grated potatoes. Generally, one large or two small potatoes are sufficient.
Dice the fish fillets into small cubes.
Spread the fish evenly over the mayonnaise-coated potato layer.
Finely chop the onion. Optional: rinse it with hot water before using in the salad to soften its flavor.
Scatter the chopped onion over the fish layer.
Apply a light coating of mayonnaise over this layer.
Grate the carrots and spread them over the onion. One or two carrots, based on size, should suffice.
Apply mayonnaise liberally over the carrot layer.
Layer the grated beets on top of the carrots.
Smooth it all out and cover well with mayonnaise.
Wipe the edges of the plate clean and garnish with items like greens, carrot flowers, onion slices, or egg yolk.
Explore variations like a combination of potatoes + fish + onion + fresh apple + carrot + beet or fish + onion + potatoes + carrots + beets.
Enjoy!
