How to make a salad with pineapples, cheese, and mushrooms

Today I want to offer a very delicate salad that combines simple ingredients perfectly. The presence of pineapple enriches the flavor bouquet. And serving it in individual portions makes the dish elegant and suitable for a festive table. This salad was born as a result of a culinary experiment. We really liked the exquisite tenderness of the salad, so I'm happy to share the subtleties of its preparation. However, I must say that since it was an experiment, you can also experiment: substitute ingredients, change the order of layers, etc. How did I choose the ingredients for the salad? I started with pineapples - I have them and they should definitely be the stars of the salad. And then we think it through. Perhaps the most classic partner to pineapples for me is cheese. One of my favorite pineapple salads contains pineapples, cheese, garlic, and mayonnaise - that's it! And it turns out to be an incomparable appetizer! So cheese will definitely be present in the salad. But I want to get slightly different notes in the new salad, emphasize the delicate taste, so I'm using processed cheese. Eggs go perfectly with both cheese and pineapple, and they can add texture to the dish. Great! And then I really wanted to use mushrooms. I knew that the combination of pineapples+mushrooms is, to say the least, non-standard. But I dared to try it, and I can say in advance: it's delicious! I chose champignon mushrooms, and they seem perfect to me. I think, for example, portobello mushrooms would be too firm. And wild mushrooms can overpower the aroma and taste. Cucumber will add freshness to the salad. And we will dress it with mayonnaise. I have already written about the difficult choice of mayonnaise, so I won't repeat it. However, I will say that if desired, you can use another dressing, for example, based on sour cream. And one more small detail: how to properly buy canned pineapples? There is always a dilemma: should you buy pineapple rings or diced ones? There are even jokes about it! I think you will make the choice yourself, but remember: you will still need to cut them later. As you can see, choosing the ingredients for a festive salad turned out to be a very simple task, the main thing is to know and feel the compatibility of certain products. Besides, before New Year's, I'm sure you have all the necessary components in your refrigerator!

First, prepare all the ingredients: wash fresh cucumbers, boil eggs, rinse the mushrooms. I know that some housewives peel the champignon mushrooms. I think this procedure is unnecessary. Here's what I do: I open the cold water tap, take one mushroom at a time, and rub it with my fingers right under the running water. This way, the mushroom is washed and cleared of any extra layers at the same time, I don't specifically clean anything. Now it's time to sauté the mushrooms. If you have small mushrooms, there's no need to even slice them, but you can cut them into 2-4 parts if desired. On a hot pan, quickly, almost without vegetable oil (just a few drops), fry the mushrooms. By not adding oil, the liquid from the mushrooms will evaporate much faster, and the mushrooms themselves will acquire a beautiful color. I seasoned the mushrooms with salt and pepper right in the pan (I like it spicy, especially since there isn't another source of such an expressive flavor in the salad). This whole process with the mushrooms should take very little time - literally 5-7 minutes.

While the mushrooms are cooling, let's start with the preparation. I strongly believe that the taste of the dish depends on how the ingredients are sliced. I think it's important to highlight the main components of the salad, which in this case are pineapples and mushrooms. As a result, I sliced them into large pieces. As for the accompanying ingredients, they should create a delicious base and enhance the main flavor. Therefore, we finely grate the processed cheese, fresh cucumber, and boiled egg. Make sure to squeeze out any excess liquid from the grated cucumber! It's time to assemble the salad. We layer the ingredients in ramekins as follows: first, an egg layer, then a bit of grated cucumber, and now these two layers can be covered with a thin mesh of mayonnaise. As you can see, even if the cucumbers release excess juice, it will be absorbed perfectly by the bottom egg layer. Now we add the sautéed mushrooms on top.

On top, we place a layer of cheese, a bit more mayonnaise, and the salad is crowned with pieces of sliced pineapple. This salad definitely needs some time to sit and allow all the layers to soak. But I didn't spread mayonnaise on the top of the salad (although, I think it's a matter of personal preference); I liked the geometric look of the salad. Now we need to cover the salad with plastic wrap or foil and put it in the refrigerator to wait for New Year's Eve! By the way, these ramekins are very easy to fit even in a pre-New Year's Eve refrigerator because they take up very little space. As a short lyrical digression: have you ever noticed how frustrating it is to live on December 30th and 31st? A full refrigerator - and nothing to eat!))) Everything is waiting for its moment, the magical New Year's Eve. But it's unfair! That's why I always trick and make an extra ramekin of salad, so it can be tasted almost immediately, without waiting for the celebration.

Before serving the salad, it just needs to be garnished. There are many options here. But I couldn't forget about the extraordinary delicate taste of the salad, so I simply avoided aggressive decorations. One or two mushrooms seemed sufficient to me.

You can also garnish it with cucumber rolls. How to make them? Very simple! Use a vegetable peeler to slice the cucumber lengthwise into thin slices. Then roll them into tubes and place them vertically on top of the salad - voila! Enjoy your meal!