Shared by Elliot Fonarev
Shuba (Russian Herring Salad)
Yield: 8 servingsTime: 40 minutes, plus several hours chilling time
Shuba (Russian Herring Salad)
Yield: 8 servingsTime: 40 minutes, plus several hours chilling timeFamily Journey
Smila, UkraineSumqayit, AzerbaijanKazan, Russia
Jerusalem, IsraelToronto, Canada
“Making shuba may have made me get over my childhood fear of shuba,” says Elliot Fonarev of the popular Russian dish also known as “herring under a fur coat.” Said to have originated in the 1800s, shuba is a savory terrine or tower composed of salty boiled potatoes, pickled onions, smoked herring, pickles, and eggs, all layered with slick lashings of mayonnaise and sour cream and topped with a bright layer of fuchsia beets and dill. It’s a tasty, visually stunning showstopper of a dish. Serve it alongside the rest of Elliot’s beautiful Shabbat menu.
Read more of Elliot’s family story in “From a University Kitchen to a Shabbat Table, Azeri Plov Runs Through This Family” and get his recipes for Azeri lamb plov and greenbean lobio.
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 13 oz. smoked herring fillets, such as Bar Harbor, diced
- 3 large yellow or Yukon Gold potatoes
- 3 medium carrots
- 3 medium beets, halved
- 3-4 large dill pickles, diced and blotted dry with a paper towel
- 2 hardboiled eggs, roughly chopped
- ½ small yellow onion, diced
- 3 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 cup sour cream
- Fresh dill, for garnish
Preparation
Step 1
In one pot, boil the potatoes and carrots in water until just soft, around 12-15 minutes for the carrots, and 25 minutes for the potatoes. Remove when cooked, and set aside.
Step 2
In another pot, boil the beets in water until soft, around 30 minutes. Remove from heat and drain; let cool.
Step 3
Peel the carrots, potatoes, and beets.
Step 4
Add onions to a bowl add just enough vinegar to just cover the onions. Let sit for at least 10 minutes, then drain.
Step 5
Mix the mayo and the sour cream together in a bowl.
Step 6
Begin assembling the shuba on a 10” plate. Place a high-sided mold like this one on the center of the plate to keep the shape of the shuba tall and straight.
Step 7
Dice the boiled potatoes, sprinkle with salt and layer on the bottom of your plate.
Step 8
Add the pickled onion on top of the potatoes.
Step 9
Layer the diced herring on top of the onion and potatoes.
Step 10
Add a few tablespoons of the mayo and sour cream mixture on top of the herring, using the back of a spoon to flatten out.
Step 11
Add the diced pickles on top, and then another layer of the mayo and sour cream mixture, and smooth with the back of a spoon.
Step 12
Add the chopped eggs on top, followed by another layer of mayo/sour cream, and flatten with the back of a spoon.
Step 13
Use a medium-holed grater to shred the carrots on top of the eggs, then add another layer of mayo/sour cream, and flatten it with a spoon.
Step 14
Use the grater to shred the beets on top of the carrots. Add the final layer of mayo/sour cream, and flatten it with a spoon.
Step 15
If there is too much of the mayo and sour cream mixture on top, you can use a knife edge to scrape some off. The color should look dark pink. Refrigerate for at least 30min, but ideally for a few hours.
Step 16
To serve, remove the mold from the sides of the shuba by slowly lifting it up with both hands. Garnish with fresh dill and serve cold.
