Kyiv Vegetable Salad with Raisins - a tried and true recipe

When I first cooked this salad with my sister-in-law (by the way, it was on New Year's Eve), my husband came into the kitchen. Seeing that there would be a whole layer of raisins in the salad, he frantically waved his arms and stomped his feet (he was so surprised and upset that he lost his speech). It was then that he firmly declared that he categorically refuses to eat a sweet cake instead of a appetizer salad. I don't remember how we managed to persuade him to try the salad (probably the magic of New Year's Eve), but since then my husband asks me to make Kyiv Salad for any small celebration. That's how love started from the first spoonful. And this love has been going on for more than 10 years. What's more, even my mother-in-law - an incredible culinary conservative - fell in love with this simple salad. So go ahead and try it! Don't be afraid! The ingredients used are very simple: beets, carrots, garlic, hard cheese, raisins, and mayonnaise. I think you won't have to buy anything specifically for this salad, all these ingredients are found in every kitchen. And especially for the holiday, cheese and mayonnaise will surely be purchased in abundance (with plenty to spare!). As for the cheese, I don't have any specific preferences, I have made it with various types of hard cheese - it was always delicious. The only thing I would recommend is not to use sweet and slightly bitter types of cheese (like Radomer, Maasdam, etc.), though I think no one would grate such types of cheese into the salad even without my recommendations. Russian, Dutch, Creamy/Smoky, Bukovinsk/Poshekhon cheese is perfect. I have already written about choosing mayo in the recipe for another New Year's salad - here. So, there is no need to repeat myself. And finally, the highlight of our festive salad - raisins. Undoubtedly, if you choose the best varieties of raisins, you won't go wrong. But even with simple, ordinary raisins, it will be delicious. This time, I deliberately chose regular raisins - and the salad turned out great!

Despite the fact that the salad uses two main vegetables - beets and carrots - they will be presented in different forms: we take the carrot raw, and the beets boiled. Therefore, it is worth starting the preparation of the salad with boiling the beets. You can use the old tried-and-true method: simply boil in a saucepan. However, this takes too long for me. Besides, I can forget about the boiling beets, which would result in a burnt saucepan. And I also don't like to wash the saucepan after boiling beets because the bright stains remain on the walls of the cookware. Most of all, I love to cook beets in the microwave. I put the washed beets in a glass saucepan, pour in about one finger height of cold water, cover the saucepan with a lid, and put it in the microwave. I set the maximum power (800 is enough) and the cooking time - about 20 minutes. After the microwave beeps to signal the end of cooking, do not rush to open the door, cooking process continues for about 5 minutes after it is turned off. The beets are ready: fast, simple, clean! While it cools down, let's work on the carrots. Wash, peel, and grate it on a coarse grater.

Also, grate the hard cheese on a coarse grater. Finely chop the garlic either in a garlic press or on a fine grater. I would recommend mixing the cheese and garlic - it will be a single flavor layer of the salad. At this stage, don't forget to thoroughly wash the raisins and pour boiling water over it to soften.

Now grate and clean the boiled beet as well. And then it's time to layer the salad. You can simply layer it in a salad bowl and cover it with a thin mesh of mayonnaise. Or you can mix each layer with mayonnaise separately in small bowls. This way the salad will soak faster. So, we put a layer of beets on the bottom of the salad bowl. On top of it - a layer of carrots. Now it's time for the cheese-garlic layer. And finally, raisins. This textured salad is very difficult to decorate. Because of the layer of raisins, it looks like Graf's ruins :) But - if desired - you can make a small bright accent as a decoration.

Many of my friends like to complicate this salad. No, the cooking process does not get complicated, but the flavor profile does. For example, you can add steamed prunes to the beet layer (agree, it's a classic combination?!), and enrich the carrot layer with dried apricots. Of course, the salad can become excessively spicy and sweet, but everyone has their own taste. I'm used to making the Kiev salad specifically and only with raisins. I will definitely make this salad for New Year's table (at the request of my husband, of course!). And I will make it in advance, for example, on December 30th. The ready salad can be covered with plastic wrap or foil and placed in the refrigerator. It will look great on New Year's night: well-soaked and infused. You only need to refresh the top layer of mayonnaise a little and decorate the dish. Enjoy your meal! Try, experiment, find your perfect harmonious combination of ingredients.