Russian Olivier Salad with homemade mayonnaise and homemade pickled cucumbers

👨‍🍳 Method

To assemble

1. 1
   Cook the potatoes in their skins and the carrots in a pot with cold salted water, 20–25 minutes from the boil, until a knife slides in easily and they are still whole.

   StovePot
2. 2
   Let cool, peel the potatoes and the carrot and cut into about 1 cm dice.

   KnifeCutting board
3. 3
   Wash the cucumbers and arrange them in a clean jar, upright and tightly packed, with the garlic and dill between them.

   Jar

   💡Fresh, firm cucumbers, tightly packed and completely covered with water: a cucumber sticking out of the water softens and grows mold.
4. 4
   Dissolve the salt in the water and pour over the cucumbers until they are completely covered.
5. 5
   Close and leave at room temperature for 3–7 days, until the cucumbers turn olive green and are as sour as you like.

   💡Taste the water after a day: it should be as salty as seawater. Add salt or water as needed.
6. 6
   Move to the fridge: the cold stops the fermentation.

   Refrigerator
7. 7
   Also cut the eggs and pickles into small, even dice.

   KnifeCutting board
8. 8
   Add the pickles, eggs, carrot and peas.
9. 9
   Put the egg, mustard, salt and black pepper in the blender jar and blend about half a minute.

   BlenderorStick blenderorFood processor
10. 10
    Add the oil in a thin, slow stream, while the blender is running, until a thick emulsion forms.

    Blender

    💡The thin stream is everything: fat that goes in too fast can't bind, and the sauce breaks. For mayonnaise and hollandaise, if this happens, start with a fresh yolk and slowly add the broken sauce to it; if the sauce is too thick, thin it with a teaspoon of water.
11. 11
    Add the lemon juice and stir. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
12. 12
    Gently mix with the mayonnaise, mustard, salt and black pepper and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

    Refrigerator
13. 13
    Sprinkle the dill on top before serving.