Huzarensalade

And it's (drumroll)....summer!!! News arrives of sunny skies, warm weather, and even some sunburnt skins. When the sun's out in Holland, you never know how long it's going to last. If they can, people will drop anything they had planned and head out to the parks, the beaches or their own backyards and balconies to make the most of the sunshine.

The last thing you want to do in such a case is spending hours in the kitchen, preparing a meal. Today's dish, huzarensalade, is a perfect dish to serve on a day like this, and using up any leftovers  you may have laying around. It only needs the minimum of attention and dedication, but will be a welcome sight on your table.

Huzarensalade, or hussar's salad, was supposedly invented by the Hussars, a light cavalry regiment. As their tactic was to be inconspicuous and since they were always on the go, they would not build fires to cook their food but chop up whatever they had and mixed them together: a boiled potato, a piece of meat, some pickles and created this cold salad, perfect for leftovers..... Whether the story is true or not, is almost irrelevant: the result is a tasty, filling and refreshing dish with a minimum of effort!

Preferably use leftover veggies for this salad. If you don't have any leftover roast, ham or cold steak, simmer some beef the evening before. Depending on the cut of meat, this can take up to two hours: just let it simmer on low under tender. If you simmer the beef with some carrots, celery and onion, you can use the remaining broth for a light, flavorful groentesoep.

Huzarensalade
10 oz beef, cooked
2 large potatoes, boiled
1 small sweet onion
8 medium dill pickles
1 red apple
1 small can of peas and carrots (if you don't have leftover veg)
4 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons dill pickle juice

For the garnish:
Boiled eggs
Mayonnaise
Cocktail onions
Tomatoes
Paprika

Cut the beef and potatoes in small dice. Chop the sweet onion and pickles. Peel the apple (or not, as you please), core it and cut it in small dice. Drain the liquid from the peas and carrots and mix everything together with the mayonnaise and the dill pickle juice. Taste and adjust if needed.

Rest the salad overnight. The next day, put the salad on a big plate, slather lightly with mayonnaise and decorate with garnish, sprinkle with the paprika. Serve it with buttered toast and a smile :-), you can now enjoy the rest of the day without anybody going hungry!




20 comments:

  1. The recipe i have calls for beets & pineapple & green beans....should look it up & share it with you.
    it's amazing how different recipes for the same thing can be!

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    1. Huzarensalade is one of those recipes that starts off with some base ingredients, and can end up being different from family to family. I have never heard of using pineapple in it, but it sure sounds exotic, how fun!

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  2. I'm looking forward to making this recipe this week. Thanks for the recipes and your dutch insight. I love it. I'm off to Holland in September for 3 weeks. Can't wait.

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    1. You are more than welcome, Cobie, I am pleased that you are enjoying the blog. Have fun in Holland, and try to sample some of those yummie dishes and baked goods!

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    2. We're staying in Enkhuizen and doing 90% of our travels by bike. We're making all of our destinations end with a visit to the local bakery!! Oh boy!!

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  3. Your picture of the salad reminded me of those delishious pickled silver onions! You wouldn't happen to know a recipe for those? Or of a place around Boise that sells them?

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  4. for those zilveruitjes - look in any supermarket here in the US for jars of "Cocktail onions" - I find them normally close to the pickles..

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    1. I've tried those and they don't taste the same. I remember the ones in holland being sweeter.

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    2. Saskia, you are right - they look the same but don't taste the same. The vinegar here in the US is so much harsher than the vinegar used in Holland, from what it seems. Oldjinks is right though, you can find them in the pickle aisle. I buy them, and then doctor them up a bit by removing half of the solution and replacing it with rice vinegar and a teaspoon of sugar. Still not entirely the same, but a lot more palatable!

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    3. I agree they are a lot more "vinagry" - we use these in a very Dry Martini..

      so if you are really after the sweeter ones like the Dutch ones ....
      I figured - get going - and try making them yourself - in your own kitchen - you own the taste of what comes out of that jar :^)

      https://skydrive.live.com/view.aspx?cid=795F85CDF7D72822&resid=795F85CDF7D72822!1283&app=Word

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    4. oldjinks, is that a link to a recipe? I would love a recipe if you have one! :) I tried the address at the end of your last message and it had expired or that I didn't have permission..
      Nicole thank you for your suggestion on Doctoring up a store bought jar. I'm going out and buying one tomorrow and trying out the rice vinegar and sugar! Thank you Thank you! I'm so glad to finally have recipes that taste like the stuff i remember growing up. I'm tired of paying crazy prices to have stuff shipped! This is awesome! Thanks again!

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    5. yep - that is a link to a recipe..
      try again - it works for me..
      if no luck send me an email
      oldjinks@comcast.net and I'll email you a copy of it..

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    6. Oops forgot to ask - did you select both lines and then click the right mouse button to open the link in ea new window ?

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    7. oldjinks!, Thank you I finally figured it out!! :) My browser (google chrome) wouldn't let me copy and paste..I've been trying to retype it... I got smart and used FireFox instead and walla!! Tada got your recipe with color pictures and all! Thank you soo much for sharing! I can't wait to try it out!
      Sas

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  5. When I attended Hotelschool the recipe called for veal.

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  6. Also according to our cooking teacher; who was quite well known nationally; you can only use things for garnish which are also inside the salad.

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  7. US people easily mis-read "silver onions" for "slivered onions" which alters the taste tremendously (in a bad way).

    We have found real European pickes/onions imported from France in the Sprouts Supermarkets. Europeans douse them in vinigar, which makes them much more sweet & sour (awesome!).

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  8. Huzarensalade, Nasi Goreng, Paella, etc,
    they are all from left overs and all very nice,
    so experience with what you have and enjoy

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  9. This is my go to Dutch potato salad (I omit the apple as my Dutch MIL never added this to hers and she also mashes her potatoes). Leftover beef or ham works with this beautifully.

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  10. For the people talking about pickled onions - here in Canada we have jars of Sweet Pickled Onions, and Sour Pickled Onions.

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I welcome your comments! Please be so considerate as to include a name, as anonymous comments will be deleted. Comments will appear as soon as they are monitored (usually within 24 hours). If you have a direct question, please consider emailing me at nicole at thedutchtable dot com for a faster response, or post on our Facebook page.