Salad Olivier (pronounced ooloovieh or olivieh) is a potato, chicken, and egg salad with a tangy twist – pickles add crunch and a punchy tartness. We serve Salad Olivier as an appetizer or side dish at gatherings. It is a wonderful compliment to kabab at barbecues, potlucks, and picnics - always a crowd pleaser!
Similar to Russian version - both have potatoes, carrots, peas, pickles, and mayo
Persian potato salad has boiled eggs and chicken. However Russian potato salad has diced ham, onion and dill, the Persian version does not.
What we like about it:
- Easy to make ahead, batch cook, meal prep
- Travels well to parties and picnics
- Unique, fun twist to potato salad - a popular crowd pleaser
Basics of recipe:
- Cooked chicken breasts
- Cooked potatoes
- Peas & carrots (sometimes available frozen)
- Dill pickles (the crunchier the better!)
- Hard-boiled eggs
- Mayonnaise
- Salt, pepper, and lemon juice
Recipe variations:
- Cut down on the mayo - possible substitutes: light mayo, yogurt, or mustard (will alter the flavor)
- Traditional method to serve has an extra layer of mayo covering the salad as a canvas to then decorate the top with vegetables
- Scoop method - scoop it in the shape of a ball and decorate around it
- Serve in split top buns or rolls as a sandwich
- Experiment with your preference of different types of potatoes and whether or not to keep the potato skins intact
Ask the Beats
Bita wants to know, what is a special Sizdeh Bedar memory that you have and can share?
Beata: Enjoying a big pot of Maman joon’s Loobia polo out in a big park at a picnic
References:
Ep 24: Norooz Part 3: Persian New Year Sizdah Behdar
Episode 58: Lubia Polo | Green Bean Rice
All Modern Persian Food podcast episodes can be found at: Episodes
Co-host Beata Nazem Kelley blog: BeatsEats – Persian Girl Desperately Addicted to Food!
Co-host Bita Arabian blog: Oven Hug - Healthy Persian Recipes | Modern Persian Recipes
Bita’s recipe for Salad Olivier Persian Potato Salad
Beata’s recipe for Lubia Polo for the Persian New Year Sezdeh be Dar Picnic
Beata’s recipe for Persian Salad Olivieh
Podcast production by Alvarez Audio