Vinegret is a fabulous Ukrainian beet salad with cooked carrots, potatoes, peas and gherkins (aka pickles). It’s commonly made over winter but is equally tasty in the summer. This filling salad is gluten-free, paleo, vegan and Whole30-friendly.
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What Is Vinegret Salad?
For this vinegret salad recipe, we travel back in time to the Soviet era and my homeland of Ukraine where it originated. It might have been Russia but nobody knows where it came from – as when the republics united the cuisine lines blurred over time.
What I know is that when winter came and fresh vegetables became scarce, this root vegetable salad often made an appearance on our table, especially on special occasions accompanied by herring, rye bread and ice-cold vodka. I think it was so popular because the colours and flavours reminded everyone of summer and because it used cheap accessible ingredients.
I wouldn’t call my vinegret recipe ‘an adaptation’ or ‘slightly modified’ because it’s as close to the real thing as I remember in my mind. I don’t know who invented this salad so I am going to credit my grandmother because she made the best vinegret of them all. Enjoy it in winter and in summer because it’s delicious and easy to make!
👩🍳 If you like cooking with beets, try these recipes: my Ukrainian Beet Borscht Soup, Roasted Beets With Mustard & Shallot Vinaigrette, Beetroot Avocado & Edamame Salad, Cauliflower Couscous With Beets & Hazelnuts or Beet Red Velvet Cake.
Nutrition Notes
This salad is a little nutritional gem! You will get the benefits of gut-friendly fibre and resistant starch in the root vegetables, and all the vitamins and antioxidants of rainbow-coloured foods. It’s gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan and Whole30-friendly, so it’s a bit of a crowd-pleaser. Plus, it’s relatively low in calories with under 400 calories per serving.
Servings Suggestions
Traditionally, vinegret is made as a shared salad to add to a festive table. However, my parents often made it for us to enjoy for lunch or as a side dish for dinner. To serve the salad, either present it in a large salad bowl or as individual portions on plates.
Vinegret can be a standalone dish and it’s lovely with a side of toasted rye bread or on top of sourdough. It’s also great with chicken rissoles, with some baked chicken or baked salmon, or grilled steak.
Storage Tips
Store the vinegret salad in the fridge covered for up to 3 days. It is not recommended to freeze this salad as the texture will not hold.
How To Make Vinegret Salad
What you’ll need:
- Root vegetables: white potatoes, whole beets and carrots are the main root vegetables in the vinegret salad. These are cooked in skin, then cooled, peeled and diced.
- Fun bits: pickles (or gherkins) add sweetness, tang and crunch and are essential in this salad; onion adds a little sharpness and you can use red or white here, even green onion will work; finally, dill is for freshness but can be omitted if you don’t have any. I love using it here. Green peas for colour, texture and a little plant-based protein. Traditional Ukrainian recipe uses canned peas as that was the most common to get peas in winter. Oftentimes, white beans are also used but I left them out for this recipe.
- For the dressing: a super simple mustard vinegar dressing will coat everything with a gorgeous tangy flavour, it’s a little similar to a German potato salad dressing. I have also seen some vinegret recipes using mayonnaise for a creamy version.
👩🍳 A few tips: You can cook beets in a different pot from potatoes and carrots if you want to prevent them from turning pink but I find that they turn pink once mixed anyway, so I cook everything together. Make sure not to overcook the vegetables as they need to hold their shape. when diced.
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Ingredients
- 2 large beets raw beetroot
- 2 large white potatoes
- 2 medium carrots
- 3 large dill pickles gherkins, finely diced
- 2 tablespoons dill chopped, fresh
- 1/2 medium onion Spanish/red, finely diced
- 1 cup green peas fresh or frozen
For the dressing
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar or white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Instructions
- Bring a large saucepan of water to boil and cook the beets, potatoes, and carrots for 20-30 minutes. Remove carrots at a 20-minute mark as they take less time to cook.
- Rinse all cooked vegetables under cold water and leave them to cool for at least an hour (this can be done ahead of time). Then peel off the skin (suggest wearing gloves when doing the beets or peel under running tap water).
- Combine the gherkins, dill and onion in a large salad bowl with the dressing ingredients and set aside.
- Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil and cook the peas for 1 minute. Drain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process.
- Once cooled down, dice the potatoes, beetroot and carrot into small cubes. Combine with the rest of the ingredients and the dressing in the bowl. Serve on its own or as a side dish with meat, chicken or fish.
Notes
- Store: Store vinegret salad in the fridge covered for up to 3 days. I don’t recommend freezing this salad as the texture will spoil.
- Variations: other things you can add to vinegret salad include sauerkraut (this is often added), canned beans, cooked chicken or diced ham, chickpeas.
Nutrition
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The color is so appealing. Salads are perfect for the summer. Gonna whip some tonight!
What a beautiful and vibrant salad!