Episode 77: Salad Olivier

Round out your Norooz/Nowruz season by taking the popular Salad Olivier to Sizdeh Bedar! Sizdeh Bedar is the 13th day of the Persian New Year where it is tradition to get out of the house and have a picnic or spend time outdoors.

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