Polish vegetable salad aka Sałatka Jarzynowa is my favorite childhood salad. For Sunday dinner, there could be no other dishes for me but salatka jarzynowa. Well… maybe also Bigos or Polish Hunter’s Stew :). I loved the vegetable salad and so do my family. Perfect for every holiday, celebration and family gathering.

My Mom makes it at least once a week. Every time I visit her, the first thing I take out from the fridge is her vegetable salad. It’s creamy, colourful and so delicious.

Here is my Mom’s classic recipe. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Ingredients

• 3 large carrots
• 3 parsley or parsnip roots
• 1 medium celery root
• 1 leek stalk (the white part) about 10 cm or 4 inches long
• 3-4 large full sour fermented pickles (ogorek kiszony)
• 1 large apple
• 5-6 eggs
• 1 can green sweet peas (approx. 15 oz, 425 g)
• 10 tablespoons mayonnaise 
• 1 tablespoon mild mustard
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper, ground

Instructions

First, wash all vegetables (carrots, leek, parsley and celery roots) thoroughly. Don’t peel them. Cooking veggies with the peel on can help preserve the taste and prevents them from overcooking.

Place carrots, parsley and celery roots into a large pot and pour in the water or stock. Add salt. Cover with a lid and set the heat on medium. Cook vegetables until tender but don’t overcook them. Remove them from the pot while they are still firm, otherwise they might go mushy in the salad. You can check with a fork whether they are ready. Set them aside to cool. The veggies are easier to dice when cold.

In the meantime boil the eggs. Place eggs in medium size a saucepan and fill with cold water. Bring the water to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and continue cooking for about 9 minutes. 

Remove the eggs from the pan into a smaller bowl. Cover them immediately with cold water and set aside to cool.

Peel the vegetables and chop them finely. The finer you dice them, the better. You can use vegetable chopper or food processor to make it easier.

Place all chopped vegatables in a large bowl.

Peel the pickles thinly from the skin and cut off the ends. Chop them into a tiny dice. Peel the apple and cut out the entire core. Slice them similarly to pickles. Add both to the bowl.

You can find fermented pickles in most European delis. Make sure to get the real deal, without any vinegar added. I get my pickles in Costco in a jar.

Peel the hard-boiled eggs, dice them into cubes and add to bowl with vegetables.

Add freshly chopped leek.

Drain the canned sweet peas and place in a bowl with the remaining ingredients of the vegetable salad.

Add mustard (for extra tangier taste) and six tablespoons of good quality mayonnaise (reserve 2-3 spoons of mayo for decoration). Season with salt and ground black pepper (about 1/2 teaspoon). Mix everything gently but thoroughly without mashing the vegetables.

Transfer to a salad bowl and cover with the reserved mayonnaise, decorate as desired.

I like to refrigerate my vegetable salad for at least 30 minutes before serving. I think it taste better when it’s cold.

Sometimes I make this salad a day before serving, and keep in refrigerator (without mayonnaise) to allow all the flavors to combine. Then I mix in mayonnaise an hour before serving.

There are many version of Salatka Jarzynowa. Aside from the main ingredients, you can experiment with some extra add-ons like sweet corn, ham, chicken breast, diced kiełbasa and capers.

Many home cooks add boiled potatoes as one of the basic ingredients to the salad. You can always try it and decide whether to add them or not. You may then need to add more mayonnaise and salt. I skip the potatoes altogether. Not everyone eats vegetable salad with potatoes.

This salad is mayo-based, has eggs and apples so should generally be eaten within 2-3 days after preparation.

I love to eat this vegetable salad as a snack, but sometimes I have it with meat or some freshly sliced bread on the side.

SMACZNEGO!!!