Ensaladilla rusa
'Russian salad': diced potato, carrot, peas, tuna and hard-boiled egg, bound with a generous slick of mayonnaise. The default Spanish tapas-bar salad.
Ensaladilla rusa is the most-ordered cold tapa in Spain. The base is cooked diced potato and carrot, peas, flaked tuna (almost always from a tin, often ventresca de bonito in the better versions), hard-boiled egg, sometimes olives or piquillo pepper, all bound with a generous spoonful of mayonnaise. The name comes from the 19th-century Russian Olivier salad (invented by a Belgian chef in 1860s Moscow), but the Spanish adaptation has been its own dish for over a century. The quality range is enormous: industrial supermarket versions are gluey and bland, while top tapas bars use small-batch alioli-style mayonnaise, top-grade tuna, and properly cooked vegetables, turning the dish into one of the most surprising things on the menu. Almost every Spanish bar serves it; the great ones are worth seeking out.
How it's served
Cold, mounded on a small plate, often topped with a few olives or piparras. Eaten with bread or breadsticks (palillos). Served as a tapa, a starter, or a side. Most Spanish bars have it on display in the cold case at the bar.
Regional variation
Andalusian versions sometimes add chopped piquillo pepper for colour and sweetness. Basque versions occasionally include lobster or prawns at the high end. The standard Madrid and Catalan versions stick to potato, carrot, peas, tuna and egg. The Russian original (Olivier salad) is heavier on meat and pickles; the Spanish adaptation lost the meat and gained the tuna.
- Origin
- Spain (adapted from the 19th-century Olivier salad)
- Etymology
- Literally 'little Russian salad' in Spanish. The Russian Olivier salad it descended from was named after its inventor, Lucien Olivier.
Where to try it in Barcelona
2 restaurants on Guidavera mention ensaladilla rusa in their kitchen description.
Frequently asked
What is ensaladilla rusa?
A Spanish cold salad of diced potato, carrot, peas, tuna and hard-boiled egg, bound with mayonnaise. Named after the 19th-century Russian Olivier salad it descended from, but the Spanish version has been its own dish for over a century. The default tapas-bar cold dish.
Is ensaladilla rusa actually Russian?
Descended from the Russian Olivier salad (invented by a Belgian chef in 1860s Moscow), but heavily adapted in Spain. The Russian original used meat (beef or chicken) and pickles; the Spanish version dropped the meat, added tuna, and built its own identity. By the 20th century, ensaladilla rusa was a Spanish dish that just happened to share an ancestor.
What makes a good ensaladilla rusa?
Quality tuna (ideally ventresca de bonito rather than supermarket-tier), homemade or small-batch mayonnaise (some bars use an alioli-style emulsion), properly cooked vegetables (firm, not mushy), and a generous binder. The industrial supermarket version is gluey and bland; a top tapas-bar version can be the surprise of the meal.
Related terms
- TapaA small plate of food, usually eaten standing at the bar with a drink. The foundational social-eating format of Spain.
- VentrescaTuna belly: the fattiest, most marbled cut. Sold canned in olive oil (ventresca de bonito) or served fresh as sashimi, tartare or quickly seared.
- TascaA small, casual Spanish tapas bar. Standing-room mostly, a few stools, cheap wine, classic tapas, no fuss.
- Tortilla españolaThick Spanish omelette of slow-cooked potato bound in egg, served by the slice. Debate over whether to include onion is a national pastime.