Tag: piemonte

Salade Piémontaise

16 July 2026

In the 1860’s Lucien Olivier was chef of the restaurant Hermitage in Moscow. The restaurant served a dish with luxurious ingredients, such as pheasant, caviar, lobster, tongue, potatoes, pickles and lettuce with a sauce, perhaps sauce Provençal. These ingredients were served separately on one plate. One evening some of the guests combined the ingredients into one dish, which was not the intention of chef Olivier, but when he tasted it, he found that the blend worked very well. He improved the sauce by adding one or more secret ingredients and the Olivier Salad was born!
It quickly became a very popular dish at the restaurant.

Sadly the recipe for the original Olivier Salad is not known. One of his sous chefs, Ivan Ivanov, wrote down what he thought was the recipe (without the secret ingredients, obviously), became head chef at another restaurant and sold the recipe to various publishers. It became known as Russian Salad. As more often, the popular version is made with less expensive ingredients, such as ham, chicken, carrots, green peas and mayonnaise.

In 1909 Tsar Nicholas II visited King Victor Emmanuel III in Racconigi, some 35 kilometres south of Turin. Russian chefs explained to their Italian colleagues how to prepare Russian salad. The Italian chefs used vegetables from the royal gardens such as carrots, peas, beans and potatoes (which we think is a bit odd given the luxurious ingredients of the original). The salad was decorated with cream to evoke the snow of the Russian steppes. It became very popular in the Savoy region, a region that included the Principality of Piedmont and the County of Nice, among others. In the south of France it is known as Salade Piémontaise.

The anecdote about the creation of the Olivier Salad seems credible, but is it? The second edition of The Modern Cook by Charles Elmé Francatelli (chef to Queen Victoria) was published in 1846. Recipe number 1215 is for…. Russian Salad! It is made with lobster, thunny (‘tuna’ we think), anchovies, crayfish, prawn tails, stuffed olives, capers and red mayonnaise (a combination of lobster coral, mayonnaise, cayenne pepper and mustard), to be served in a vegetable border (made with cauliflower, asparagus, beans, peas, potatoes, artichoke bottoms and aspic).
Two great chefs think alike?

We can’t recreate the Olivier Salad, but we can follow Francatelli’s instructions and make an original Russian salad.
Anyone?

Our version of the Salade Piémontaise is based on the salad as sold by the Boucherie de France in Nice. It’s a surprisingly light dish that allows you to enjoy all ingredients, thanks to the lemon juice and the fairly neutral mayonnaise.

Wine Pairing

Piemonte is well known for its great wines, such as Barolo and Barbaresco, both made with Nebbiolo grapes. We decided to go for a more simple wine from the region, produced by Fontanafredda and made with 100% Barbera grapes. A wine that is fruity (black berries, plums) with low tannins and a relatively high acidity, which is very nice with the salad.

What You Need
  • 250 grams of Potatoes
  • 125 grams of Ham (one slice)
  • 200 grams of ripe, excellent Tomatoes
  • 1 organic Egg
  • 10 Cornichons
  • Black Pepper
  • Lemon Juice
  • Mayonnaise
What You Do
  1. Steam the potatoes, let cool, peel and dice
  2. Dice the ham
  3. De-seed the tomatoes and slice, same size as the potatoes and the ham
  4. Steam or boil the egg, let cool and dice
  5. Slice the cornichons
  6. Combine the ingredients
  7. Coat with mayonnaise and mix gently
  8. Add lemon juice, black pepper and adjust
  9. Leave in the refrigerator until cool
  10. Serve with crusted bread
PS

In 1852 Francatelli published A Plain Cookery Book for the Working Classes to help poorer members of society. The book contains 241 recipes with inexpensive ingredients. Not just royalty and exclusivity for him!

Salade Piémontaise ©cadwu made with tomatoes, potatoes, gherkins, egg, ham, lemon juice, black pepper and home made mayonnaise
Salade Piémontaise ©cadwu

Vitello Tonnato

3 July 2019

Who came up with the idea to combine veal, tuna, anchovy, mayonnaise and capers?
The story goes that in the 19th century veal was prepared as if it was tuna. Sounds a bit far fetched, but tuna wasn’t eaten raw (at least not in Europe) but cooked in water with various herbs and then stored in brine or oil. Tha approach to prepare veal as if it is tuna was described in 1836 by the French Monsieur Burnet in his recipe Manière de donner au veau l’apparence et le goût du thon mariné.
In 1862 (according to Luca Cesari) a medical doctor from Milan was the first to combine tuna and veal.

Anchovy

Not a remarkable ingredient at all!
Salted) anchovy has been used as a flavour booster in meat dishes and sauces for many centuries. For instance in the combination of leg of lamb with anchovy and garlic it will bring depths, umami and saltiness. When making a remoulade sauce you should not forget to add anchovy. And why not prepare a wonderful French Anchoiade? Or dip your vegetables in Bagna Cauda? And let’s not forget the joy of crusted bread with Tapénade (black olives, capers, garlic, anchovy and olive oil). What would a classic Caesar salad or a salade Niçoise taste like without the anchovies in the dressing? Such a useful fish!

Wine Pairing

The obvious choice is to drink a glass of Italian white or rosé wine with the vitello tonnato. A fresh wine, with a touch of acidity and not too complex, for instance a Bardolino Chiaretto or a Soave.

What You Do (Classic approach)

Given the origin of Vitello Tonnato the meat should be cooked in water with carrots, onion, leek, clove, bay leaf, thyme and pepper. The trick is not to cook it too long; you want a touch of pink in the meat when it is served. Keep some of the cooking juices to add to the sauce later on.
Create the mayonnaise by mixing egg yolks, lemon and a neutral oil (peanut or grape seed oil).

What You Need
  • 150 grams of Veal (top side or silver side)
  • Butter
  • Olive Oil
  • Mayonnaise
  • 75 grams of canned Tuna (in brine)
  • 1 Anchovy fillet (or 2 if you love anchovies)
  • Lemon Juice
  • Capers (in brine)
What You Do
  1. We prefer to fry the meat, even if it’s historically and culinary incorrect. We think frying is quicker and gives you more control over the cuisson. Plus we feel that cooking the meat means losing flavours.
  2. Fry the meat in a heavy iron skillet in some butter and olive oil. Not too hot!
  3. Sear the meat, lower the temperature and fry the meat until nicely rosé
  4. Transfer the meat to a sheet of aluminium foil and let rest until lukewarm or cool
  5. Wrap the foil around the meat, let cool and transfer to the refrigerator
  6. Just before serving
  7. Drain the tuna
  8. Blender the tuna, the anchovy, a few capers, the juices from the meat (in the foil) and some lemon juice until completely smooth
  9. Add some mayonnaise to a bowl, add a spoonful of the mixture and taste
  10. Continue until you have the right balance
  11. Thinly slice the veal, serve on a plate and top with the sauce
  12. Make sure some of the meat is still visible
  13. Decorate with the capers
Vitello Tonnato © cadwu
Vitello Tonnato © cadwu