Russian New Year's Eve Feast Platter

About This Recipe

New Year's Eve, not Christmas, is traditionally the biggest holiday feast in Russia, and this platter brings together three dishes that appear on nearly every Russian table that night: Olivier salad, a mayonnaise-dressed mix of diced potato, carrot, peas, pickles and ham; herring under a fur coat (shuba), a striking layered salad of salted herring, potato, carrot and beet coated in mayonnaise; and pelmeni, small meat-filled dumplings boiled and served with butter or sour cream. Each dish requires its own separate preparation but none are individually difficult, which is part of why they've endured as a shared holiday tradition -- families often make large batches together in the days leading up to New Year's Eve. Olivier salad's defining feature is dicing every ingredient into small, uniform cubes so each bite has a bit of everything, while shuba's dramatic layered presentation, with its magenta beet topping, is meant to be visually striking when brought to the table. Served together as the centerpiece of a Russian New Year's spread, alongside champagne and often more dishes besides, this platter reflects a night built around abundance, tradition and dishes that are just as much about shared preparation as they are about the meal itself.

Ingredients

Serves 8

• 4russet potatoes(boiled, for salads)
• 3carrots(boiled, for salads)
• 1 cupfrozen peas(thawed)
• 4dill pickles(diced)
• 200 gcooked ham(diced)
• 4hard-boiled eggs(diced)
• 1.25 cupsmayonnaise(divided)
• 400 gsalted herring fillets(diced)
• 2beets(boiled and grated)
• 1onion(finely diced, for herring)
• 500 gfrozen pelmeni (meat dumplings)
• 4 tbspbutter(for serving pelmeni)
• 0.5 cupsour cream(for serving)
• 2 tspfine sea salt(divided)

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the Olivier salad

   Dice 2 potatoes, 1 carrot, ham and eggs into small, uniform cubes. Combine with peas, pickles, half the mayonnaise and 1 teaspoon salt. Chill until serving.

2. 2

   Layer the herring under a fur coat

   In a deep dish, layer diced herring and onion, then a layer of grated boiled potato, then grated carrot, spreading a thin layer of mayonnaise between each layer.

   Spread each layer edge to edge and press down gently before adding mayonnaise -- neat, even layers are what give shuba its signature striped appearance when sliced.

3. 3

   Finish the fur coat

   Top with a final layer of grated boiled beet, spread with the remaining mayonnaise to fully coat the top and sides. Chill at least 2 hours, ideally overnight.

4. 4

   Cook the pelmeni

   Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add frozen pelmeni and cook until they float and the dough is tender, 6 to 8 minutes.

5. 5

   Serve the pelmeni

   Drain the pelmeni and toss with butter. Serve hot with sour cream on the side for dipping.

6. 6

   Assemble the table

   Set out the Olivier salad, herring under a fur coat and the buttered pelmeni together, along with extra sour cream, for a shared New Year's Eve spread.

Variations

• •

  Homemade pelmeni: make the dumpling dough and filling from scratch for a more traditional, labor-intensive version of the dish.

• •

  Vegetarian Olivier: skip the ham and add extra diced pickles and boiled egg for a meat-free version of the salad.

• •

  Simplified spread: for a smaller gathering, focus on just one salad and the pelmeni rather than preparing the full three-dish platter.

Storage

Refrigerate each component separately up to 3 days in airtight containers. The salads are served cold and don't need reheating; reheat leftover pelmeni gently in butter in a skillet.

Frequently Asked Questions