Polish vegetable salad aka Sałatka Jarzynowa is my favorite childhood salad. I always helped Mama in the kitchen, chopping vegetables, peeling eggs and of course tasting it. For me, that was a perfect Sunday. We would make Sałatka Jarzynowa at least once a month and always for special occasions, like Christmas. I love the vegetable salad and so do my family. It’s a perfect dish for every holiday, celebration and family gathering.

Every time I visit my Mom, the first thing I take out from the fridge is her vegetable salad. She knows how much I love it so she always makes it for me. 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. 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 medium and continue cooking for about 6-7 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.

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

Peel the apple and cut out the entire core. Slice it similarly to pickles.

Find a vegetable chopper on sale on Amazon.

Chop the leek stalk thinly and add to the bowl.

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

Place all chopped vegatables in a large bowl.

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.

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.

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!!!

Have you tried my Mom’s Spring Cabbage aka Młoda Kapusta? If you like cabbage, you will love this recipe.