My Game-Changing Olivier Salad with Black Truffle for New Year's Eve

I'm a huge fan of New Year's Eve, and one of my favorite salads is the Russian version of 'Olivier', which is basically 'Stolichny'. I've heard people say it's not the 'real' 'Olivier' that the French chef created in 1894, but rather a cheap imitation. I've always been curious to try the real deal.

When I started searching for recipes online, I hit a few roadblocks. Some ingredients are kept under wraps, especially the Cabul sauce. I had to get creative and rely on my culinary instincts. Preparing lanspike (spoiler alert: it's a long and tedious process) wasn't easy either. And let's just say finding black truffle in Russia is no cakewalk. I managed to whip up my own version of the real 'Olivier', one that's close to the original.

The Real Olivier Salad from 1894

So, here's the recipe:

Radishes Potatoes

Pickles Cucumbers Olives Razor clams Black truffle Cabul sauce Provençal

Lanspike

Green leafy salad

The salad is layered in the following order:

Radishes Potatoes Provençal --- 2 times --- Pickles Cucumbers Olives Razor clams Black truffle Cabul sauce --- Potatoes Radishes Provençal

---

For garnish:

Lanspike Razor clams Truffles Green leafy salad

I have to say, I tried the quail (it's interesting how it's similar to partridges?), and it tastes like chicken, but drier and with darker meat everywhere, even on the breast. So I decided to substitute it with chicken legs, I don't think I lost much in terms of flavor.

Here's how the layering process looks:

The real Olivier salad 1894: layer of game and potatoes

By the way, the recipe called for just 18 crab claws, but I ended up with twice as many.

The real Olivier salad 1894: layer of black truffles, crab claws

The real Olivier salad 1894: layer of cucumbers, olives

Here's how it looks from the side:

The real Olivier salad 1894

It looks most effective in transparent dishes.

Black truffle.

I've never seen black truffles in open sale before, let alone bothered to look for them. They're just so unique, rare, and local - mainly found in Europe, like France, Italy, Croatia, and Spain, but also possible on our Black Sea coast. And they're seasonal, which is why I'm lucky to have found them now, during their peak season. They're most flavorful in the winter, but I managed to get the less potent summer version. I did find the winter truffle for sale, but only in one place, and it was frozen with delivery to St. Petersburg for a whopping 1900 rubles! That's 2500 rubles per 40 grams of truffle, and I wouldn't have been able to get it, as I realized too late, just a couple of days before New Year's, when the pre-holiday shipments were already wrapped up.

So, I had to settle for the next best thing: a conserved summer truffle from Italy. I'd read a ton of negative reviews on the summer truffle, both whole and sliced, which was already a pretty low bar to set. But I still decided to give it a try.

Black Truffle RETARTU in slices

I opened the app for the hypermarket 'Okay' and checked the availability on the map. Of course, it was available at the farthest store. And by the end of December, we were in St. Petersburg, and it was freezing outside. So, the trip there was a real challenge. The store is huge, and I spent ages browsing through it until I stumbled upon an empty shelf with the price tag for this poor truffle. Well, I thought, it's all for nothing. But I still decided to approach the store manager and ask if there were any leftovers. And to my luck, they had these jars on the stockroom! What a clever move on my part to ask. I was thrilled and proud of myself, and I rushed to the checkout to spend 1330 rubles with a discount (without discount 1760 rub) for 30 grams of this precious product (that's the weight of the truffle itself, with the sauce - 50 grams)

Here's how the jar looks from all sides:

Black Truffle RETARTU in slices

On top, we see the country of origin: Italy.

On the side, we have the composition and calorie count. By the way, the composition includes aroma enhancer. Even summer truffles aren't aromatic enough, so I had to resort to this method.

Black Truffle RETARTU in Slices

Black Truffle RETARTU in Slices

I'm really into the idea of conserved goods being in glass jars – it's like the manufacturer has nothing to hide and is willing to show their product face-on:

Black Truffle RETARTU in Slices

The slices are neat, even, and the cut is smooth. By the way, it's immediately apparent that this truffle isn't from winter or autumn: there's no 'nutmeg' pattern – it's just a single tone.

Before I added it to the salad, I tried one slice on its own. As for the taste: I liked it – it exceeded my expectations. It's unusual, earthy, and has texture – like eating the outside of the mushroom, but not the dirt . In a good way. I was expecting 'mashed potatoes' as someone wrote in their review, but that didn't happen. The mushroom is definitely worth it. The aroma is also subtle, no harsh chemicals or anything bitter – it's very light, pleasant, and refined.

Of course, everyone's perception of this product is different, and my parents, for instance, didn't get the hype around it, but I actually enjoyed it, even in this simplified, summer version.

I'll write about how it performed in the salad a bit further down, but first, I'll continue to reveal some secrets about preparing the dish.

Aspic is prepared from game meats or regular meat, by slow-cooking the bones in a clear broth for about 6-8 hours. When the connective tissue breaks down into gelatin, the broth is nearly ready. Then it needs to be strained.

I've tried a few different recipes, but since I only eat meat from poultry or fish, I skipped the game meat option.

I eyeballed the proportions, as the recipe called for way too much meat and bones. I only had two chicken carcasses, so I used a small pot, covered them with water, and brought it to a boil. Then I reduced the heat to 3 out of 10 and let it simmer. I removed the scum and other debris a few times, and when the water was clear, I left it to cook for about 5 hours. When I removed the bones, they fell apart on the fork, and the connective tissue had broken down into gelatin - it was a success!

Bones from the aspic broth

To clarify the broth, I added raw ground meat and/or egg whites, which remove the impurities along with the solids. Then I strained it again.

Steps to make the bouillon for Lanzspig

I added just one raw egg white, and the result is visible in the photo. The last shot is already with the addition of diluted cognac in a 50:50 ratio (I used it instead of the missing Madeira), which I added at the end. Madeira is a fortified wine with a strong cognac aroma. We bought it in Crimea after tasting, where it made a big impression on me, but I haven't used it for ages. So, replacing it with cognac, which was available in the sideboard, seemed logical to me.

I ended up straining this bouillon an endless number of times. It seemed to me that it wasn't clean and transparent enough. I strained it through a cloth, and I did that many times. Although the recipe mentioned some damp cloth (not for your hands, haha!), I still didn't get what they were talking about.

After removing the bones, clarifying, and straining, you add spices to taste (pepper, bay leaves, herbs, salt) and Madeira (in my case, diluted cognac). You bring it to a boil to let the spices impart their flavor to the bouillon. After adding the spices, you strain it again, and there should be no debris left in the bouillon.

I'm one of those people who says, 'What a bummer - this is your gelatinous fish.' And I never eat aspic because I only eat clean chicken meat without fat, skin, veins, or giblets. I had my doubts about being able to eat this lanspig, but straining, clarifying, spices, and alcohol made the flavor so neutral that I ended up eating it. And in a salad, it was especially fitting. Plus, this product is very beneficial for joints and bones, which is quite relevant to my demanding physical work.

Next, the broth needs to be cooled and checked for solidification. If there were a lot of bones, like in the recipe, it might solidify on its own. I had fewer bones, so it didn't solidify, but I ended up with a decent amount of broth - 625 ml. By the way, we put it on the balcony, and it froze instead of cooling down, so after thawing, it became murky again, and I had to strain it again.

If the broth doesn't solidify on its own, we add gelatin or agar-agar. I used agar, added 2.5 teaspoons (mix with cold water, add to the broth, bring to a boil), and the jelly turned out to be really firm. If you prefer it less firm, you should add less. Keep in mind that this is a broth, not a juice or water, so it already contains some gelling agents, although in insufficient quantities. After adding agar, we don't reheat the broth again!

We cut the solidified jelly into cubes and it goes on top of the salad.

Cabul Sauce is one option:

- Apple sauce - Tomato paste - Soy sauce - Spices to taste - Madeira

I've got to say, the description of this product is full of mysteries. What even is apple sauce? There are tons of options out there. I went with the one that caught my eye, and you can make your own too. I'm a big fan of combining soy sauce with horseradish and a sweet ingredient, so that's the recipe I chose.

Apple sauce (I made it with sweet apples, cooked down in a saucepan without skin with celery root and horseradish, blended into a puree, but then I realized the blender wasn't doing the trick, so I ended up adding it to a food processor).

Apple sauce with horseradish

Apple sauce with horseradish

The Cabul sauce itself was a bit of a wild card. I threw all the ingredients together in roughly equal proportions:

Cabul sauce

It was a disaster. The tomato paste overpowered everything, and the sauce was way too acidic. So I added a teaspoon of honey to balance it out and more of the apple sauce.

Caucasian Sauce

I have to admit, the sauce had gotten too soft and lacked the saltiness and spiciness I was looking for. I added a bit more soy sauce to balance it out, and this is how I ended up mixing it until I got the flavor just right.

Instead of using Madeira, I added a bit of diluted cognac in a 50:50 ratio at the end.

I replaced Madeira with diluted cognac in a 50:50 ratio

The cognac did the trick and gave the sauce the right consistency - it was too thick before. I blended everything together in a blender.

I was curious to see the final result:

Caucasian Sauce

And I have to say, it turned out pretty interesting - spicy, unique, with a hint of sweetness and a tangy flavor.

But what surprised me was how well the sauce complemented the layer of mushrooms. I was worried it would overpower the mushroom flavor, but I was wrong. The sauce worked perfectly and the mushroom flavor was still intact.

While I was waiting for the lasagna to set, the salad was sitting and getting infused with the sauces. This would later affect the shelf life, but at the moment, it was delicious. Spoiler alert: the salad stays fresh for exactly two days, and on the third day, it's a bit questionable.

The Caucasian sauce had infused everything, even the layer of potatoes, which became really interesting.

The mushrooms really stole the show in this salad, along with the scallops and lanspighi. Those three components stood out to me the most. The Kabuli sauce blended in with the salad ingredients, rather than overpowering them.

When I took a bite, I thought: 'Wow, this is so unusual and delicious, a real culinary discovery. It's got nothing in common with our usual 'Olivier' salad.'

I'm absolutely thrilled with the salad, these mushrooms, and I don't agree with all the negative reviews about them - the mushrooms are great. If you have the chance to get your hands on a winter black truffle, go for it.

Wishing you all a happy appetite and tasty culinary discoveries in the new year!