Name: Ruska salata
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 2 h 55 min
Yield: about 2 kg salad; 10 servings
Cuisine: Serbian
Ingredients: 450 g potatoes — peeled and cut into 1 cm dice after cooking; starchy base; 250 g carrots — peeled and cut into small dice; vegetable; 250 g green peas — frozen; vegetable; 3 large eggs — fully cooked, cooled and diced; use pasteurized shell eggs if available; 220 g pickled cucumbers — well drained and diced; acidic crunch; 200 g ready-to-eat cooked ham — diced; savory addition; 350 g commercial mayonnaise — made with pasteurized eggs; dressing; 25 g mild mustard — seasoning; 6 g fine salt — seasoning; 1 g ground black pepper — seasoning

Yield about 2 kg salad; 10 servings

Preparation time 35 minutes

Cooking time 35 minutes

Passive time 105 minutes

Ingredients ↓

Overview

Serbian-style ruska salata with cooked vegetables, ham, eggs and mayonnaise

Ruska salata is familiar on Serbian cold tables, but its name should not be used to claim that the local formula is the point of origin of the wider Olivier or Russian-salad family. The Serbian household adaptation has developed its own recognizable balance: cooked potato, carrot and peas, tart pickled cucumber, mayonnaise, and often cooked ham and eggs. The result is creamy but should still show distinct cubes rather than a mashed vegetable paste.

Texture begins with cooking, not with mayonnaise. Potatoes are boiled only until a knife enters with light resistance, because fully collapsing potatoes will disintegrate when diced and folded. Carrots need to be tender but intact, and peas should not be simmered until dull and wrinkled. Draining matters just as much: excess vegetable water dilutes the mayonnaise and makes the salad weep as it stands.

Everything hot is cooled before the dressing is added. Warm vegetables melt the emulsion and keep a perishable mixture in a poor temperature range for too long. Spreading the cooked components in shallow trays lets heat escape quickly. Once they are cold, the potatoes and fully cooked eggs can be diced to approximately the same scale as the carrots, peas, pickles and ham.

The dressing is deliberately based on commercial mayonnaise made with pasteurized eggs. That avoids turning a cold buffet salad into a raw-egg preparation. Mustard adds a restrained sharpness, while the pickles supply most of the acidity and crunch. Their brine should be drained before dicing; the salad needs the pickle itself, not a pool of liquid that loosens the dressing.

After folding, the salad chills for a full hour. That rest lets the mayonnaise settle around the diced ingredients and brings the entire bowl back to an even serving temperature. Cold holding remains important after service begins: keep the salad at 4 °C or below when it is not actively being served, and discard portions that have remained unrefrigerated for more than 2 hours.

Practical

ControlCook vegetables only until they hold a neat dice.
ControlCool every cooked component before mayonnaise is added.
ControlDrain pickles thoroughly so their brine does not thin the dressing.

Ingredients

Cooked vegetables and eggs

450 g potatoes — peeled and cut into 1 cm dice after cooking; starchy base
250 g carrots — peeled and cut into small dice; vegetable
250 g green peas — frozen; vegetable
3 large eggs — fully cooked, cooled and diced; use pasteurized shell eggs if available

Cold additions

220 g pickled cucumbers — well drained and diced; acidic crunch
200 g ready-to-eat cooked ham — diced; savory addition
350 g commercial mayonnaise — made with pasteurized eggs; dressing
25 g mild mustard — seasoning
6 g fine salt — seasoning
1 g ground black pepper — seasoning

Directions

Cook the components

Cook potatoes to a firm diceBoil 450 g potatoes in their skins for about 15 minutes, adjusting only as needed for size. Drain as soon as the centres are tender enough to cut cleanly without falling apart. A small knife should enter the potato with light resistance, while the flesh still holds a clean dice after cooling.
Cook carrots and peasCook 250 g diced carrots and 250 g frozen green peas for about 10 minutes, then drain thoroughly so no cooking water follows them into the salad. The carrots should be tender enough to bite cleanly but should not collapse when stirred with the peas.
Fully cook the eggsCook 3 eggs until both whites and yolks are completely firm, about 10 minutes. Transfer them to cold water, then peel once they can be handled. The eggs are fully cooked when both white and yolk are firm with no liquid centre.

Cool before mixing

Cool every cooked componentSpread the cooked vegetables and eggs in shallow trays or containers and chill for 45 minutes at 4 °C. Do not add mayonnaise while the components are warm. The vegetables are ready to mix when they are cold to the touch and no residual steam is trapped in the tray.

Dice, mix and chill

Fold the cold saladDice the cooled potatoes and eggs, 220 g well-drained pickled cucumbers and 200 g ready-to-eat cooked ham. Fold them gently with the carrots, peas, 350 g commercial mayonnaise made with pasteurized eggs, 25 g mild mustard, 6 g salt and 1 g black pepper. The salad should be evenly coated while individual vegetable cubes remain distinct rather than mashed.
Chill before servingCover the salad in a shallow container and refrigerate for 60 minutes at 4 °C before serving. The salad is ready to serve when it is uniformly cold and the dressing has settled around the diced ingredients.

Practical

Serving

Spoon the salad with a clean chilled utensil and return the bowl to refrigeration between rounds of service. On a large buffet, smaller replenished dishes keep more of the batch cold.

Make-ahead

The full salad can be made earlier the same day. Its final 60-minute chill is already part of the timing, so there is no need to bring it to room temperature before serving.

Storage

Keep covered at 4 °C or below and use within 3 days. This mayonnaise-based salad is not improved by freezing and is not intended for reheating. Discard any portion that has stood unrefrigerated for more than 2 hours.

Ham-free option

If a meatless variation is needed, omit the ready-to-eat ham rather than replacing it with a raw or partially cooked meat. The salad becomes lighter and less savory, while the vegetable and mayonnaise balance remains workable.

Control points

Watery dressingGuidance: Vegetables or pickles were warm or poorly drained.Adjustment: Cool cooked ingredients fully and drain pickles before mixing.
Mushy textureGuidance: Potatoes were overcooked or the salad was stirred aggressively.Adjustment: Stop cooking while potatoes still hold their shape and fold gently.

Nutrition

Serving sizeabout 200 g
Calories355 kcal
Carbohydrates18 g
Protein9 g
Fat28 g
Fibre3 g
Sodium760 mg

These values are approximate; ingredient brands, trimming, frying absorption and exact portioning can change the final figures as applicable.

Allergens and food safety

Contains egg and mustard; ham may contain additional labelled allergens depending on brand. Use fully cooked eggs and commercial mayonnaise or another mayonnaise made with pasteurized eggs. Cool cooked ingredients before mixing, refrigerate the salad promptly, and hold at 4 °C or below. Do not leave the salad at room temperature for more than 2 hours; use clean utensils for serving.

FAQ

Why has liquid collected in the bowl?

Warm vegetables, poorly drained pickles or overcooked vegetables can all release water. Cool and drain every component before folding.

Can homemade mayonnaise be used?

No. Use commercial mayonnaise or another mayonnaise made with pasteurized eggs for this preparation.

Result: A good ruska salata is cold, cohesive and creamy while the potatoes, carrots, peas, pickles, egg and ham remain visibly distinct.

Key: Cook for shape, cool completely before dressing, and maintain continuous refrigeration at 4 °C or below.