We’ve both been fighting a cold, so last week, I decided to visit the little market near our building rather than walking a kilometer both ways to shop at the supermarket. Now the big dilemma – what will I find in this tiny shop that I can make into a meal? They had ground turkey, so our protein would be turkey meatloaf with sauce. The very limited fresh produce wasn’t appealing that day, so I went with a jar of mixed vegetables. I didn’t notice until I took the photo below that it was a Mexican veg mix. (It didn’t jump out at me as a Mexican combination, but who am I to rob Polish households of their international flair?)
My plan was to make this into a molded, mayo based salad like I’ve seen in so many Polish restaurants. It always reminds me of the ensalada ruso (Russian salad) that was so common in Spain. I wasn’t working from a recipe, but I decided to garnish these starchy vegetables much like I would a potato salad.
Smacznego!
Lois
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Salatka Warzywna (Vegetable Salad)
- Yield: serves 4
- Category: Salad
- Cuisine: Polish
Description
A visually appealing dish that’s so easy to put together!
Ingredients
- 2 cups canned or frozen mixed vegetables, finely diced (mine included corn, peas, carrots, and kidney beans)
- 1/2 cup mayo (or to taste)
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup finely diced onion
- 1 hard-boiled egg, diced
- salt & pepper
optional ingredients:
- finely diced boiled potato
- finely diced granny smith apple
- finely diced pickle
- finely diced celery
Instructions
- To the mixed veggies, add the mayo and Dijon mustard
- Stir in the onion and hard-boiled egg
- Add any other optional ingredients
- Seasoning with salt and pepper
- The dish makes a striking presentation when smoothed and garnished with parsley, tomatoes slices, or cucumber slices
- You can present as one large serving for the table or individual small servings
Notes
In my mind, the key to this salad is keeping everything very small and uniform in size. Whatever you decided to add, make sure it’s no bigger than a pea.
An accountant by trade and a food blogger since 2009, Lois Britton fell in love with Polish cuisine during the years she lived in Poznań, Poland. As the creator of PolishHousewife.com, she loves connecting readers with traditional Polish recipes. Lois has a graduate certificate in Food Writing and Photography from the University of South Florida. She is the author of The Polish Housewife Cookbook, available on Amazon and on her website.
Melinda
Hope you’re feeling better now, Lois! Thought this was interesting: my mom used to make a similar salad with Vegall canned veggies. Always loved it! (I’m crazy for mayo!)
Lois B
Melinda – I agree; mayo improves most everything!
Kasia
It says on the can: just add mayo, and it is ready:)
polishhousewife
Now that you mention it, Kasia, I see where it says majonez! Here I thought I was being clever. 😉
Chris
I had this the very first time made by my cousin whe I visited in Poland. Loved it but no apple in hers.
polishhousewife
I think they’re all a little different! Thanks for sharing your experience, Chris!
Maja
More eggs, as they are healthy now…always potatoes red one, and I don’t put onion…less mayo but more sour cream. For a cup of sour cream 1/3 cup mayo, and 2tbsp Dijon mustard.
polishhousewife
Sounds good, Maja!
Chris
I had my first in Poland. My cousin made it and I fell in love with it I need to make my kwn soon
polishhousewife
Tasty and it can be so pretty. Some people really decorate it to the nines!