"Fish under the fur coat" - a revolutionary salad

"Fish under the fur coat" salad is known to many people, but not everyone knows the history of its creation. If you ask why this dish is called so, the majority will say: "Well, how! After all, the herring is hidden between layers of potatoes, onions and beets - "dressed" in a kind of fur coat. " The answer is logical, however, incorrect. Here we will look at the curious history of making snacks and, of course, give a recipe for its preparation.

In the distant 1918, a certain Aristarkh Prokoptsev, who served as a cook in the tavern of merchant Anastas Bogomilov, came up with the idea of honoring the recent Great October Revolution. He did not just decide to devote a new dish to this great act, but wanted that the self reflected the liberation of the working class from the yoke of capitalism. Then he took the herring that was associated with the skinny proletariat, the potato - the symbol of the servile peasantry, the beetroot - the red color of which meant the blood shed during the revolution, the French sauce "Provansal" (after all, the revolution has no borders) and laid out all the components of the strata. His creature, the ideologically savvy chef, called tricky: "Chauvinism and decline - boycott and anathema." Shortly, Sh.U.B.A., which in time was transformed into a salad "Herring under a fur coat."

During the NEP and a new wave of emigration from Russia, the recipe penetrated abroad. In the midst of the capitalists, against whom Aristarch Prokoptsev turned his revolutionary wrath, the fish under the fur coat became very popular. 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 we'll make this salad.

What do we need for him? Needless to say, the herring is whole, not in oil and not in sauce. A single fish will suffice for a large plate. Further boiled in a peel or baked vegetables: a potato, carrots, a beet. You must necessarily have mayonnaise, preferably the classic "Provansal", and the hard-boiled egg. And, last but not least, absolutely flat plate or dish, so that the fish under the fur coat lay even layers.

Let's start cooking. First of all, we'll deal with herring. It must be cleaned, freed from all bones, and cut the fillets with medium cubes (up to 1 cm). But do not rush to lay herring in a dish: our fish under the fur coat should rest on a "pillow" of the potatoes welded in a uniform and peeled. We rub it on the grater so that at the bottom it formed a layer 1 cm thick. The top of this pillow is greased with mayonnaise.

The second layer is herring, the third is a finely chopped bulb, the fourth is a chopped egg, the fifth is a grated carrot, and the sixth is a grated beetroot. In no case should the layers be mixed, each with mayonnaise. Coat the white "Provansal" side of the ready-made salad, decorate the top with "roses" of carrots and eggs and feathers of a green onion. Let the salad "Herring under the fur coat" stand for a couple of hours: the beet juice must soak up the mayonnaise until a smooth, gently pink shade is obtained. Note that in the "coat" fantasy and personal initiative are not forbidden, but only welcome. You can change the layers in places, sprinkle with grated cheese, decorate with caviar, add a layer of grated sour apples. However, meat and all sorts of "exotic" in the form of avocados or pineapples in this snack are inappropriate.