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romanian oriental potato salad with olives in a large bowl
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5 from 3 votes

Romanian Potato Salad - Oriental Salad

Romanian potato salad with gherkins, olives, and eggs. The classic Oriental Salad or Salata Orientala is made in every Romanian home.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time50 minutes
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Romanian
Diet: Vegetarian
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 503kcal
Author: Adina

Ingredients

Salad:

  • 2 lbs waxy potatoes 1 kg
  • 1 large red onion
  • 4 hard-boiled eggs
  • 4 oz sweet-sour cucumbers (gherkins) 120 g, more to taste
  • 10 black olives Note 2
  • 10 green olives

Dressing:

  • 1-2 tablespoons white wine vinegar to taste
  • 2 tablespoons gherkin water or more to taste
  • 1 teaspoon medium mustard or Dijon mustard
  • 4 tablespoons sunflower oil
  • fine sea salt and pepper
  • a small bunch of parsley

Instructions

Salad:

  • Cook potatoes: Wash the potatoes. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon salt and the potatoes. Bring to a simmer again and cook for 15-20 minutes or until you can easily pierce the potatoes with a fork. Drain well and let cool slightly. Peel the potatoes and cut them into slices. Place them into a bowl.
  • Prepare ingredients: Quarter the onion and slice it thinly. Add to the bowl. Slice the hard-boiled eggs and the gherkins and add them to the salad as well. Finally, add the olives; you can either leave them whole or slice them.

Dressing:

  • Whisk together 1 tablespoon of the vinegar, gherkin water, and mustard. Slowly add the sunflower oil while whisking all the time until the dressing emulsifies slightly. Add salt and pepper generously.
  • Combine: Pour the dressing over the salad and mix gently until all the ingredients are coated with the sauce.
  • Adjust taste and add more vinegar or gherkin water and salt to taste.
  • Serve: Stir again before serving and adjust the taste again if necessary, you could add one extra tablespoon oil, vinegar, gherkin water, and salt and pepper. Chop the parsley and sprinkle it over the salad just before serving.

Notes

  1. The Romanian potato salad is usually served as a main dish. However, it makes an excellent side dish for grilled meats, sausages, and so on.
  2. Preferably unpitted black olives, they taste so much better. However, if using them, warn the people at the table about the pit.

Nutrition

Serving: 1/4 of the salad | Calories: 503kcal | Carbohydrates: 66g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 17g | Cholesterol: 187mg | Sodium: 744mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 12g