Syrnyi Pash­tet - Russian Cheese Salad

      Russia is known for the zakuski table, a table full of items similar to tapas or appetizers. Similar in size and portion anyway, the foods themselves are very Russian. The zakuski are similar to a buffet or pot-luck and are usually part of a holiday or party meal. 

     Some typical items are pickled anything, Russian love pickles after all. Those can include the dill pickles like we are familiar with in the states, but also pickled tomatoes or watermelon, or just about any other vegetable you can think of. It can also include Salad Oliver, similar to potato salad with potatoes and a mayo dressing but also chopped ham and pickles along with red onion and peas. Vingret is also popular and is only one of two well-known Russian salads that aren't full of mayo. The salad is cooked beets with onions, potatoes, and carrots, and tossed with a vinegar and sunflower oil dressing. The other salad that doesn't have the mayo is Vitaminniy, fresh cabbage and carrots in a vinaigrette dressing that is like Russian coleslaw. 

      My local university has a Russian seminar every semester or so and I get to cater the affair. Typically I do something simple like a pot of borscht, but this time I decided to do a whole table. Individually packaged making it easy to grab. The tasting table included vingret, salat oliver, pickled tomatoes, vitaminniy, cheese salad, a mini stuffed pepper, a dill pickle, shashlik, brown bread with Moscow salami and kashkaval cheese, and paska bread and cheese. The shashlik is a skewer of lamb or beef that is grilled, in mine, I made mini ones that fit on the plate. 

Russian Cheese Salad Recipe

8 oz. block Havarti cheese

3-4 Tbsp. mayo

1 Tbsp. onion

2 cloves garlic

Fresh cracked black pepper

     Using a box grater, grate the onion on the fine side to great a pulp. Grate the garlic clove on the fine since into the onion mixture. Combine the onion and garlic and three tablespoons of mayo. 

     Mix the black pepper and onion and mayo mixture into the grated cheese and fold to combine. Add more mayo as needed. Let chill overnight. 

     Serve with dark bread and enjoy!