Fastiv-style Salad with Cabbage and Ham Recipe
Long ago, Fastiv-style salad was very popular here, since it is made from simple, affordable ingredients. At the same time, it is very filling and tasty. There are plenty of recipes under this name, and, surprisingly, they are completely different. Since I often visited the town on the Unava river that gave the salad its name, and even lived there for a while, I'll offer a “local” recipe, so to speak, for this wonderful appetizer.
The base of the salad is young cabbage, though you can also use a very finely shredded “old” head of white cabbage. Another important component is sweet red onion, along with ordinary canned green peas. The meat part is smoked meat cut into thin strips: ham, cured pork loin, smoked sausage and so on. An extra ingredient is a hard-boiled egg. And, of course, as with almost any “folk” salad, the dressing is mayonnaise.
Ingredients
2 servings
- Cabbage 0.5 kg
- Smoked ham 100 g
- Canned peas 0.5 cup
- Egg 1
- Sweet red onion 1
- Mayonnaise 1-2 tbsp
- Salt, black pepper to taste
Step-by-step recipe
- Since Fastiv-style salad is an all-season appetizer, use whatever cabbage is available. Ideally, get a young head – it is softer and more tender. So-called “old” heads, sold in autumn or winter, need to be shredded very finely, but under no circumstances should you squeeze them with your hands, as is usually done for salads – they will release a lot of juice. Hard-boil a chicken egg, cool it and peel it. You can make the mayonnaise yourself or use store-bought.
- Half a small cabbage is enough to make this appetizer for two. It's best to remove the outer leaves, as they are usually a little limp. You can shred the head with a sharp knife or a shredder. By the way, since the shredded cabbage must not be squeezed, shred it as thinly as possible. If you crush it, it will release juice and the salad will turn watery.
- Peel the onion and slice it into thin half-rings. Don't use onion with a sharp taste and smell – a Yalta onion or something similar works best. These are juicy, even delicate varieties. Separate the white from the yolk of the boiled, peeled egg. As a rule, the yolk is used only to garnish the appetizer. Roughly chop the white and add it to the cabbage and onion.
- Drain the liquid from the can of green peas. In summer, fresh peas were often used in Fastiv-style salad, boiled beforehand. Add the peas to the bowl with the vegetables. Cut lean ham into thin strips – store-bought sliced sandwich meat is perfect for this. By the way, it also turns out great with smoked or dry-cured sausage, which adds variety to the dish.
- Season the salad with salt and ground black pepper and mix. Add 1–2 tbsp of mayonnaise – store-bought or homemade. Mix again so that all the ingredients come together and the mayonnaise is evenly distributed. The appetizer turns out fairly dense. Transfer the salad to plates or small salad bowls, then sprinkle with crumbled or grated egg yolk.
- For serving, you can use a cooking ring of a suitable size. This gives the appetizer a “shape” so it can be served in portions. If you like, add a little green peas and red onion together with the egg yolk. By the way, if the onion is a little sharp, you can sprinkle it with vinegar beforehand. Sometimes parsley or cilantro is added to the appetizer – I don't like it that way. I remember seeing someone add toasted walnuts; it was quite nice, if unusual.
Yield: 2 servings Calories: 110 Prep: 15 mins Cooking: 5 mins Ready in: 20 mins Category: Salads Cuisine: Ukrainian cuisine Rating: