"Fish under a fur coat" - a revolutionary salad

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Salad "Fish under a fur coat" is known to many, but not everyone knows the history of its creation. If you ask why this dish is called that, most will say: “Well, how! After all, herring hides in it between layers of potatoes, onions and beets - “dressed” in a kind of fur coat. The answer is logical, but wrong. Here we will look at the curious history of the creation of the snack and, of course, give the recipe for its preparation.

Back in 1918, a certain Aristarkh Prokoptsev, who served as a cook in the tavern of the merchant Anastas Bogomilov, came up with the idea to honor the recent Great October Revolution. He did not just decide to dedicate some new dish to this great deed, but wanted the dish itself to reflect the liberation of the working class from the yoke of capitalism. Then he took herring, which he associated with the skinny proletariat, potatoes - a symbol of the forced peasantry, beets - the red color of which meant the blood shed during the revolution, French sauce"Provencal" (after all, the revolution has no borders) and laid out all the components in layers. The ideologically savvy chef called his creation intricately: “Chauvinism and decline are boycotted and anathema.” It was abbreviated as Sh. U. B. A., which eventually transformed into the salad “Herring under a fur coat”.

During the NEP and a new wave of emigration from Russia, the recipe penetrated abroad. Among the capitalists, against whom Aristarkh Prokoptsev turned his revolutionary anger, the fish under a fur coat took root very well. In restaurants in Paris, New York and other big cities, this dish is simply called "Shooba". It is easy to prepare, inexpensive and very nutritious. Let's try and cook this salad.

What do we need for him? Of course, the herring is whole, not in oil and not in sauce. One fish is enough for a large plate. Further boiled in a peel or baked vegetables: potatoes, carrots, beets. Be sure to need mayonnaise, preferably the classic "Provencal", and a hard-boiled egg. And, last but not least, a completely flat plate or dish so that the fish under the fur coat lies in even layers.

Let's start cooking. First things first, let's deal with the herring. It must be cleaned, freed from all bones, and the fillet cut into medium cubes (up to 1 cm). But do not rush to lay out the herring in a dish: our fish under a fur coat should rest on a “cushion” of potatoes boiled in uniform and peeled. We rub it on a grater so that a layer 1 centimeter thick forms at the bottom of it. Lubricate the top of this pillow with mayonnaise.

The second layer is herring, the third is a finely chopped onion, the fourth is a chopped egg, the fifth is grated carrots, and the sixth is grated beets. In no case do not mix the layers, grease each with mayonnaise. Coat the sides of the finished salad with white “Provencal”, decorate the top with “roses” of carrots and eggs and green onion feathers. Let the salad "Herring under a fur coat" stand for a couple of hours: the beetroot juice should soak the mayonnaise until you get an even pale pink hue. Note that in the "fur coat" fantasy and personal initiative are not forbidden, but only welcomed. You can swap layers, sprinkle with grated cheese, decorate with caviar, add a layer of grated sour apples. However, meat and all sorts of "exotics" in the form of avocados or pineapples are inappropriate in this appetizer.