The classic Olivier salad, with crab meat in place of the usual sausage, pressed into neat individual rings and finished with a spoonful of red caviar, ribbons of cucumber and fresh dill. Make the salad ahead and chill it: it holds its shape better and tastes better after half an hour in the fridge.
Ingredients
Salad
- 3 medium potatoes (about 400 g)
- 2 carrots
- 4 eggs
- 3 pickled gherkins
- 150 g green peas, canned or frozen
- 1 tin of crab meat (about 160 g), drained
- 4 tbsp mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp sour cream or Greek yoghurt
- Salt and black pepper
To serve
- 60-80 g red caviar
- 1 small cucumber, for ribbons
- Fresh dill or micro herbs
You will also need
- A ring mold about 8 cm wide (or a clean tin with both ends removed)
Method
- Boil the potatoes and carrots in their skins for 20-25 minutes, until a knife slides in easily. Boil the eggs for 10 minutes.
- Cool everything, then peel and cut the potatoes, carrots and eggs into 1 cm cubes. Dice the gherkins the same size.
- Put the vegetables, eggs, gherkins and drained peas in a large bowl. Break the crab meat into small pieces and add it.
- Mix the mayonnaise and sour cream, season with salt and pepper, and fold gently through the salad. Chill for at least 30 minutes.
- Place the ring mold on a plate (dark plates look striking) and pack in a quarter of the salad, pressing it down firmly. Smooth the top with the back of a spoon, then lift the ring away carefully. Repeat for the other plates.
- Use a vegetable peeler to cut long thin ribbons from the cucumber. Top each salad with a heaped spoonful of caviar, a loose curl of cucumber and a sprig of dill or a few micro herbs.
Tip: Cut everything to the same small size so the salad packs tightly and the ring comes away cleanly. Add the caviar at the last minute.