Rosolli
Rosolli is the Finnish Christmas salad, served alongside the casseroles and herring. Beetroot, carrot, potato, pickled cucumber, onion and apple cut into neat small dice, served with separately whipped cream tinted pink with beetroot juice. What sets it apart from a mayonnaise salad is the absence of mayonnaise and the clear presence of beetroot, which only colours everything once mixed on the plate. It is best chilled and made a day ahead, so the flavours settle.
Your own work in that: 10 min.
- Boiling the vegetables 45 min
- Cooling 60 min
- Dicing 20 min
- Dressing 10 min
- Chilling 30 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneBoil the vegetables
Boil the beetroot (40–45 minutes), the carrots (20 minutes) and the potatoes in their skins (25 minutes) in three separate pans at once, each until tender. Cooking the beetroot apart keeps the rest from staining.
Ingredients: 400 g beetroot · 300 g carrots · 400 g potatoes · 150 g pickled cucumbers · 1 pcs onion · 1 pcs tart apple · 1 tsp salt · ¼ tsp white pepper · 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
Cool
Drain and cool completely, ideally an hour somewhere cool. Warm vegetables fall apart when diced.
Ingredients: 400 g beetroot · 300 g carrots · 400 g potatoes · 150 g pickled cucumbers · 1 pcs onion · 1 pcs tart apple · 1 tsp salt · ¼ tsp white pepper · 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
Cold vegetables dice neatly.Dice
Peel and cut everything into small dice of about 7 mm: beetroot, carrot, potato, pickles, onion and apple. The even dice is rosolli's signature.
Ingredients: 400 g beetroot · 300 g carrots · 400 g potatoes · 150 g pickled cucumbers · 1 pcs onion · 1 pcs tart apple · 1 tsp salt · ¼ tsp white pepper · 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
Even dice — the whole charm of this salad.Mix
Fold the potato, carrot, pickles, onion and apple together gently in a large bowl with the salt, pepper and a tablespoon of vinegar. Add the beetroot last — setting a spoonful of the dice aside for the dressing — and stir only a few times so the salad does not turn uniformly pink.
Ingredients: 400 g beetroot · 300 g carrots · 400 g potatoes · 150 g pickled cucumbers · 1 pcs onion · 1 pcs tart apple · 1 tsp salt · ¼ tsp white pepper · 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
Press out beet juice
Crush the reserved beetroot dice through a sieve with a spoon and keep a few drops of juice for the dressing.
Ingredients: 400 g beetroot · 300 g carrots · 400 g potatoes · 150 g pickled cucumbers · 1 pcs onion · 1 pcs tart apple · 1 tsp salt · ¼ tsp white pepper · 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
Whip the cream
Whip the cold cream to soft peaks and add the vinegar, sugar and a pinch of salt.
Ingredients: 200 ml whipping cream (30%) · 1 tsp white wine vinegar · 1 tsp sugar · ¼ bunch dill
The dressing is whipped apart and tinted.Tint the dressing
Stir in a few drops of beetroot juice until pale pink and add the chopped dill.
Ingredients: 200 ml whipping cream (30%) · 1 tsp white wine vinegar · 1 tsp sugar · ¼ bunch dill
Chill and serve
Chill the salad at least 30 minutes, or better make it the day before. Serve the dressing in a separate bowl — everyone spoons it on at the table.
Ingredients: 400 g beetroot · 300 g carrots · 400 g potatoes · 150 g pickled cucumbers · 1 pcs onion · 1 pcs tart apple · 1 tsp salt · ¼ tsp white pepper · 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
Before you start
Without cream
Many Finnish households make the dressing from thick natural yoghurt or soured cream with a little mustard. That brings the salad to about 100 kcal per serving.
With herring
Rosolli is often served with pickled herring and boiled egg, making it the Finnish counterpart of a herring salad.
Storage
The salad without dressing keeps 3 days in the fridge. Whip the dressing no more than a day ahead and keep it separate — mixed in, it thins quickly.
