Bring on the dogs........ (Salads)

Member Name: Pink-Ice-Queen

Product:	Salads
Date:	01/02/07 (560 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It's yummy and easy

Disadvantages: It's messy....or is that just me?

I have finally come to the conclusion that I have as much chance publishing "Clinton's Cuisine" as I have of actually receiving a payment/straight answer off the CSA.
So I am going to share some of my fave's with you…but don't tell my sister because I refused to tell her tee hee!

Today is Ensaladia Ruso. Aka Jessian salad. A Tapas dish.

Tapas (meaning "cover" -apparently brought about by people covering their drinks to protect from flies with a piece of food such as flat bread or a different opinion which I personally prefer is that the wine seved was so vile that strong cheese was served to "cover" the taste) is a Spanish dish usually served free as an appetizer although a full meal can be made out of several dishes. Tapas can be anything from simple dishes like olives, potatoes or cheese to a more complex dish such as deep fried baby squid or chicken goujons or aforementioned ensaladia. I have found that lots of tapas contain tomato or seafood which I hate which was why I was so excited at finding my Russian Salad. There are lots of really nice potato dishes made with Chili but this isn't one of them!

I first tasted Russian Salad in a Tapas Bar in Tenerife a good few years back and was hooked…it was delicious all creamy and yummy. I returned the following year, but alas that Tapas bar was shut. So I scoured the menus of Tapas bars everywhere we went looking for the divine Ensaladia.
Eventually I found one and waited in anticip……ation. It was Vile, disgusting, yuck,blarrrggggg. It had soggy carrots and peas and something I don't even want to contemplate (lets just say it was squishy).
You see the good (or bad thing about Ensaladia) is that it's a mix of ingredients that are quite often yesterdays left overs and it very much depends on what exactly was left over yesterday as to whether it will be yummy or yuck.
Arriving home disappointed after looking forwards to eating this dish for months I decided I would concoct my own…which is of course far superior to any other tasted.

*****INGREDIENTS*****
As with most of my cooking I never actually weigh/measure anything so I am just giving you guestimates.

15 small salad potatoes (the waxy ones that don't fall into mush when you cook them)
2 handful's of pasta (any kind of short pasta such as bows or tubes but I prefer spirals)
1 Chicken breast
4-5 Tablespoons Mayonaise
1 Avocado Pear
1 Apple
1 stick Celary
100 grams strong cheddar cheese
Mattersons garlic smoked pork sausage (approx half of - you may eat the other half whist preparing dish)
1 Italian Herbs oxo cube (optional)
Dash (always wanted to say that) extra virgin olive oil
A few pans
A large Bowl
Spatula
A sharp knife (watch your finger - please note there is no blood in the ingredients list)
Water (to state the obvious)
A complete disregard for the state your kitchen is going to end up in
Asbestos hands
Glass of wine (Sod it - make that a bottle)


*****METHOD*****

Wash your hands…(come on we know where you have been- ewwww)
Pour your wine and start drinking.

Cook your CHICKEN - (if you aren't using yesterdays left overs) The easiest way to do this is to cube chicken and boil it for about 20 mins. ( not forgetting to wash your hands, knife and board straight away or them nasty germs will eat your stomach away from the inside out..or something like that anyway)

Chop your POTATOES into cubes (they don't have to be perfect cubes - unless you are a perfectionist in which case you are reading the wrong review) and boil for approx 20 mins

Stick your PASTA on to boil for usually about 12 mins until al dente ( this means when you throw it at the wall it sticks….although don't do this in front of the children as I did and end up spending the whole of the next day cleaning porridge off the walls….well you did it mummy!) I think it adds an extra bit of taste if add an Italian oxo cube to the water.

Now you have a fight with your AVACADO - slice open the skin with your knife - I have found the best way is to cut through in quarters and peal the skin away. Now pick up the avocado off the floor (well that's when I always drop the slippy bugga) and slice in half through to the large stone (I recommend you top up your wine about now) grab the avocado in two hands and twist until you have 1 half with the stone and one half stoneless. Prise out the stone and cob over your left shoulder for luck.
Finely chop what's left of the avocado (use the knife to scrape out from under your fingernails and the spatula to scrape off the walls and add to the rest) and throw it all into the large bowl. (There has to be an easier way but I actually enjoy this way)

Chop your SAUSAGE into cubes and chuck in the bowl.

Ditto above with the CHEESE,CELERY and APPLE.

By this time your chicken, potatoes and pasta have probably boiled dry. Do your best to drain and salvage what you can - scrape any burnt bits off.

Throw the potatoes and pasta into bowl and set about burning your fingers to cinders as you shred the chicken as finely as you can and add to bowl.

Now add your mayonnaise and olive oil ( I always used to use Heinz Mediterranean Mayo but this seems to have disappeared hence the olive oil)

Now for the fun bit…..roll your sleeves up (unless like me you have given up entirely on keeping your clothes clean and are now cooking in the nuddy)

Mix the whole lot together until everything is evenly coated in mayo (stop complaining that its hot on your hands - your hands should be oblivious to pain after shredding the chicken) I suppose you could use a spoon or spatula to mix but that would be like actually doing some work whilst at work (you know who you are)

Now let the dog into the kitchen to clean the floor.

*****SERVE*****

Serve as a main meal with crispy bread or an accompaniment at a bbq or with other tapas dishes.
At this point you should have drunk so much wine that you won't care about the state of your kitchen/hands/clothes or the actual taste of the food- but believe me tis gorg.

*****ALTERNATIVES*****

The beauty of this dish is that it's a leftovers meal so you can add or substitute almost anything such as adding raisons or pine nuts or substituting tuna for chicken. I wouldn't change too much though as that would make it a completely different dish and I would have wasted my time telling you about this one and you may as well go and publish your own recipe if you think its better than mine (although I can tell you now its not!!!)


Disclaimer….I accept no responsibility for sliced/burnt fingers, dirty clothes/kitchens or dicky tummies (it was YOUR choice to let the dog wash the pots and you were warned about the rest)

Summary: Quick easy Russian salad you can make with left overs..