Romanian Potato Salad

A versatile recipe, this Romanian Potato Salad is easy to make, healthy, and very fulfilling. It could be a wonderful lunch or dinner for a meatless meal, which is also suitable for vegetarians.

I have lots of memories of food while growing up. Most memories are related to both my grandmothers, who were wonderful cooks. I like to think that I inherited the love of cooking and baking from them, and I am truly blessed to have the opportunity to watch them work in the kitchen.

However, this recipe is one of the recipes my mother used to make quite often. I don’t think there is a Romanian alive who doesn’t know about this salad.

It is very popular and made in every household for a quick lunch or dinner.

I am not even sure why it is called Oriental Salad, and because I could not come up with any other better name, I will call it the same.

My mom used to make this recipe when she was tired, and nothing more spectacular was cooked, or just at the end of the week, on Fridays, for example, as a lighter meal.

Potatoes were a staple all year round and a cheap way to feed the family, so we had many. It was also an excellent way to have a meatless meal.

The oriental salad is a versatile recipe. Even though it is a traditional Romanian one, everyone has their own version, probably based on the ingredients people used to have available.

What ingredients go into this salad:

Potatoes– The best potatoes for salad are the firm-textured, low-starch “waxy” varieties, which hold their shape well. I also like red potatoes.

Eggs– I used hard-boiled eggs. Leftover hardboiled eggs from Easter are perfect for this salad.

Black olives– Any kind of good quality black olives works in this salad.

Onions– I like to use red onions, but I tend to make the salad with whatever type of onion I have available.

Vinaigrette– this is an easy salad dressing that uses mustard, oil, vinegar, a little bit of sugar, salt, and pepper.

Optional: some people like to add chopped pickles or a mixture of green and black olives.

This Romanian potato salad might go into the category of healthier potato salads, as it is not loaded with mayonnaise. Satisfying and simple, this recipe has an A+ in my book! I hope you try it!

Interested in more recipes for potato salad? You can try this classic American one. Or maybe you are interested in this Spanish version, which is delicious and easy to make.

More recipes to love:

Simple Roasted Potatoes

Mexican Beans Salad

Savory Sweet Potato Casserole

German Potato Salad- Rhineland Style

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Yield: 4 servings

Romanian Oriental Potato Salad

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Romanian traditional potato salad made with simple ingredients like boiled eggs, olives, onion and a vinaigrette.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Ingredients

• 5-6 medium potatoes boiled with the skin on
• 4 boiled eggs peeled
• 1 large red onion(regular or 4-5 green onions work fine too) sliced thinly
• 1/2 cup black olives sliced or whole

For the Vinaigrette:

• 1/2 lemon juice(or 2 tablespoons vinegar-your preference)
• 3-4 tablespoons vegetable oil(I used sunflower oil, but olive oil is fine too)
• 2 teaspoons mustard
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar or honey
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Boil the potatoes with the skin on until the fork goes through them. Let them cool for few minutes, then peel and slice them thinly or in cubes.
2. Boil the eggs, peel and slice them thinly as well.
3. In a large salad bowl, place the potatoes, eggs, olives and sliced onion.
4. Separately, make a vinaigrette by mixing together mustard, oil, salt and pepper, sugar or honey and a little bit of water.
5. Pour the vinaigrette over the salad and toss gently to preserve the shape of the potatoes and the eggs.
6. Serve.The salad can last in the refrigerator, in an airtight container, for about 4 days.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 478Total Fat: 21gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 16gCholesterol: 187mgSodium: 314mgCarbohydrates: 62gFiber: 6gSugar: 8gProtein: 13g

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