Vinegret – Russian traditional vegeterian salad with beetroot

How to boil vegetables for salad:
Place beets, potatoes, and carrot into a large pot, cover with cold water seasoned with salt, cover with a lid, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, partially uncover, simmer until vegetables are tender, but not mushy. After the water boils, the carrot takes 20 minutes, potatoes take 30 minutes, and the beets take about an hour. Note that the beets never get as tender as potatoes, so if a knife pierces them easily, they are done.

Cool and peel the beets, potatoes, and carrot. Their skin will slide off quite easily, so you don't need a peeler. Use a paring knife for potatoes, carrot, and beets.

Vinegret – Russian traditional vegeterian salad with beetroot.
Not to be confused with the word “vinaigrette,” vinegret is a distinctively Russian twist on the traditional vegetable salad. The most obvious difference is that, unlike leafy salads with lettuce or spinach, vinegret uses boiled potatoes and chopped beets, giving it a bright red or magenta – rather than green – appearance. It’s a favorite food of many Russians, normally eaten during the holidays (especially New Year’s Eve), but many claim they could eat it every day.