The classic salad recipe “Capercaillie Nest" and the most successful author's variations of the dish

And today we will prepare a nest - not a magpie or a hornet, but an original and tasty "Capercaillie Nest" - a salad that has been enjoying the well-deserved love and respect of gourmets for many years. If you have never seen him, and wonder why it is called that way, see the photo of the finished dish.

There is information on the Internet that in the initial version of the salad, it was precisely the capercaillie meat. However, there are very few people who remember the classic recipe in its pre-revolutionary form. Nobody has added meat of this bird to a dish long ago. He was replaced by chicken, turkey, and in some places even beef. Some people manage to replace the game in the salad with smoked sausage or balyk. And they say that this option is no less tasty. However, the reviews of home-cooks are unambiguous: first of all, you need to master the classics and only then proceed to prepare the variations.

Capercaillie Nest Salad Recipe: Classic

To properly prepare the grouse nest salad, you must follow the instructions below. White dietary chicken meat is the key to creating an easy-to-eat dish. Beef will make the salad more satisfying, but also fully meets the principles of proper nutrition and a healthy lifestyle. In general, many ingredients can be replaced with low calorie equivalents. But for starters, try a very satisfying, but at the same time absolutely simple recipe for a grouse nest salad with chicken or boiled beef.

With white chicken

Feature. White meat is considered a dietary product. It removes toxins from the body, saturates with animal protein and is perfectly absorbed. In addition, this is a real storehouse of iron, selenium, phosphorus, zinc and, of course, calcium. Some people prefer a smoked chicken salad. The taste of the dish takes on piquancy, but you can’t call it healthy and dietary anymore.

Ingredients:

• chicken breasts - three pieces;
• potatoes - four to five medium tubers;
• onions - two pieces;
• cucumbers - three pieces;
• chicken eggs - five pieces;
• dill - a bunch;
• salt - a pinch;
• mayonnaise - to taste;
• refined sunflower oil - a glass;
• processed cheese - one package;
• garlic - three cloves.

Cooking Algorithm

1. Boil the breasts and disassemble the cooled meat into small longitudinal fibers.
2. We clean the onions, cut them as finely as possible and fill them with steep boiling water for a couple of minutes. After the specified time, drain the boiling water and pour the chopped onion with cold water. We thoroughly rinse it and drain the water.
3. Peel the potato tubers and cut them into strips as finely as possible.
4. We heat the sunflower oil in a deep fryer or a deep frying pan and fry chopped potatoes on it.
5. We clear the cucumber from the skin to make it tender and also cut it in a longitudinal way.
6. Pre-hard-boiled eggs are removed from the shell, and the yolks are separated from the proteins. Put the yolks aside, and rub the proteins on a fine grater.
7. Using a sharp knife, chop the dill. The smaller the better.
8. We put half of the deep-fried potatoes in a wide bowl, add the shabby boiled protein, and then the remaining ingredients of the dish (chopped chicken breasts, cucumbers, chopped onions).
9. We season the resulting mass with mayonnaise to taste and put in a salad bowl.
10. We spread the remaining half of the fried potatoes in a circle around the dish, forming something like a nest on top of the total mass of lettuce.
11. Now we proceed to the formation of “eggs” in the capercaillie’s nest, which will become a delicious finishing touch to the dish: we grind the processed cheese and the remaining yolks on a fine grater, uniting into a single mass.
12. Squeeze the garlic into a plate with cheese, add a little mayonnaise, mix and form tiny “eggs”.
13. The deepening made with the help of fried potatoes is first filled with finely chopped dill and then we put the “eggs” on it.

Puff with boiled veal

Feature. Boiled beef is an indispensable product for people suffering from iron deficiency. Cattle meat is characterized by a high content of vitamin B12, which contributes to the high-quality absorption of iron. In addition, this product is rich in vitamin PP, which is part of the enzymes, as well as phosphorus, zinc, magnesium and sodium. The “Capercaillie Nest” puff salad is the choice of those who love home cooking, but at the same time tend to diet options for cooking.

Ingredients:

• thin pita bread - three pieces;
• chicken eggs - three pieces;
• boiled beef - 400 g;
• onions - two small heads;
• cucumber - two pieces;
• sour cream - five tablespoons;
• quail eggs - three pieces;
• dill and parsley - one bunch each;
• garlic - a few cloves (depending on individual preferences);
• vegetable oil - two dessert spoons.

Cooking Algorithm

1. We add pita bread with an accordion and thinly cut with a sharp knife. Pita in this recipe replaces the potatoes from the previous recipe, making the dish less greasy, easier. But at the same time idealizes its appearance. A “nest” of thinly sliced ​​pita bread is more accurate, aesthetic and more realistic than a “nest” of french fries.
2. On the bottom of the salad bowl we spread finely chopped onion, previously aged in boiling water, and lightly season it with sour cream.
3. On top of the first layer we spread finely chopped beef. Some cooks prefer to grind boiled meat in a blender. You can also try this option. Minced meat from boiled meat will make the dish even more tender and airy.
4. Before flavoring the beef, it is necessary to salt and pepper, add the spices that you like, and only then smear with sour cream.
5. We spread the third layer - finely chopped pita bread, which can be sprinkled with dill.
6. Cut the greens, add vegetable oil to it and squeeze out a few cloves of garlic. Mix thoroughly.
7. Using the cutlery, we form a hole inside the dish, fill it with a mixture of greens and lay on it quail eggs previously peeled from the shell. Salad ready.

Interpretations: add ham, cabbage, chips

Cabbage and ham have never been part of the original recipe. But it is common for domestic culinary specialists to introduce author's touches in their favorite dishes. Time "took" the best variations of "Capercaillie Nests." And today, these recipes are offered in cookbooks and on culinary sites in parallel with the classic ones.

Fast

Feature. Sauerkraut is not to everyone's liking, so this option cannot be called universal.But if you don’t dwell on cabbage from a barrel, feel free to proceed. To implement a quick recipe for a grouse nest salad, you will need 200 g of sauerkraut. This serving contains 40 mg of vitamin C, which prevents cell aging and strengthens the immune system.

Ingredients:

• potatoes - three tubers;
• sauerkraut - 200 g;
• carrots - one thing;
• boiled chicken egg - two pieces;
• sunflower oil - half a glass;
• processed cheese - one package;
• salt to taste;
• mayonnaise - for dressing.

Cooking Algorithm

1. Fry finely chopped julienne potatoes in vegetable oil until tender. A crisp should form on the potato.
2. Boil the carrots and cut it into small strips.
3. We take out the yolks in boiled eggs and for now use only protein: cut into small cubes, mix with potatoes, carrots and sauerkraut, salt and season with mayonnaise.
4. We lay out the mass in a salad bowl and form a nest.
5. Three cream cheese on a fine grater, add half of the yolks we have and a little mayonnaise. Mix thoroughly and form miniature balls.
6. Each ball, before putting it in the center of a dish with salad, is first dipped in mayonnaise, and then in finely grated yolk.

Satisfying

Feature. A step-by-step salad recipe for grouse noodles with ham begins with a competent choice of the main ingredient - ham. An ideal option would be chicken ham, which has a minimum of fatty layers. A dish with pork ham is too fat and heavy for the stomach. In the case of using this product, mayonnaise dressing should be replaced with sour cream. And better - make mayonnaise yourself.

Ingredients:

• ham - 300 g;
• potatoes - three tubers;
• lettuce leaves - several, for the decoration of the dish;
• hard-boiled chicken eggs - three pieces;
• mayonnaise (or sour cream) - to taste;
• salt, pepper - to taste;
• boiled quail eggs - three pieces.

Cooking Algorithm

1. Fry the potatoes in the same way as in previous recipes. To remove unwanted excess vegetable oil, spread the french fries on a paper towel.
2. Cut the ham and eggs into strips and mix.
3. We send french fries there and add mayonnaise.
4. Salt and pepper. We spread on lettuce leaves so as to form a kind of nest from the salad mass.
5. We lay quail eggs inside the nest and enjoy a meal.

Smart

Features Sometimes, on occasion, I want to cook something special, while not experimenting and not risking a fiasco at the most inopportune moment. You can make a capercaillie nest salad with mushrooms and potato chips without bothering with cooking and knowing for sure that the dish will make a splash with unusual design and long-beloved taste.

Ingredients:

• pickled mushrooms or champignons (others will do) - a jar;
• meat (any) - 400 g;
• potato chips with salt - average packaging;
• pickled cucumber - three pieces;
• parsley - a bunch;
• mayonnaise - for dressing;
• hard cheese - 100 g;
• chicken eggs - three pieces;
• garlic - two cloves.

Cooking Algorithm

1. Disassemble the meat into fibers. If you choose ham - cut into strips.
2. Cut the mushrooms in the same way.
3. Chop pickled cucumbers the same way.
4. Mix these three ingredients in a common bowl, salt, pepper, add finely chopped parsley and season with mayonnaise.
5. Grate the eggs and mix them with grated cheese, add a little mayonnaise and chopped garlic to the mixture, form cheese balls.
6. Put the salad on a flat plate, forming a nest from it - with a recess in the middle. Put cheese balls inside the hole and sprinkle the edges of the “nest” with potato chips.
7. Serve to the table without tightening, so that the chips do not have time to get wet and remain crispy.

If you want to add an author's zest to the classic recipe for a grouse nest salad - experiment not with taste but with decoration. For example, the parts of the dish towering above the eggs can be decorated with halves or quarters of cherry tomatoes, adding freshness to the salad. Fans of spicy dishes can generously season the salad with garlic, chopped as much as possible and sprinkled it on top. In addition, an additional dressing can be served to the salad - a mixture of mayonnaise and cayenne pepper.

Reviews: “My secret is homemade mayonnaise and lean pork”

The salad is just awesome !!!!! I made homemade light mayonnaise and added the most tender, lean smoked pork. The salad just flew away !!! This is not a capercaillie's nest - this is a swift flight of the capercaillie !!

Vladimir Neverov, https://finecooking.ru/recipe/salat-gnezdo-gluharya

Girls, this salad is awesome, she did not expect that with the presence of such simple ingredients it will turn out so delicious! And I cooked for my family and didn’t make it especially festive, but I added the fried potatoes to the salad for a reason.

Katya, http://www.moi-povar.ru/kulinar_retsepti/salat/11061/?PAGEN_2=2

Eh ... I tried) I didn’t succeed) the salad is tasty in itself, all the potatoes started to stick to the pan and, in general, turned into porridge as a result, grated on Korean

Katerina Ivanovna, http://alimero.ru/blog/recepti/salat-gnezdo-gluharya.5378.html

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