History

Salată de boeuf descends from the 19th-century Olivier salad of Tsarist Russian chef Lucien Olivier in Moscow, which spread through the Russian Empire and reached Romania via Phanariot and Russian-influenced upper-class kitchens. The Romanian version uses boiled beef, potatoes, carrots and pickles bound with homemade mayonnaise and decorated with pickled vegetables. The dish is unmovable from the Romanian Christmas Eve table.

Common allergens: Egg, Beef, Pickles

Make it at home

Yield 8Hands-on 45 minTotal 3 hrDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 500g beef brisket or chuck
  • 500g floury potatoes
  • 300g carrots
  • 200g celeriac
  • 200g pickled gogoșari (or roasted red peppers)
  • 150g pickled cucumbers
  • 200g cooked peas (frozen, defrosted)
  • 3 eggs
  • 300ml sunflower oil
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • Salt and white pepper
  • Pickled gogonele, olives and parsley to garnish

Method

  1. Simmer the beef in salted water with a bay leaf for 90 minutes until tender. Cool in the broth, then dice into 1cm cubes.
  2. Boil the potatoes, carrots and celeriac whole until tender; peel and dice into 1cm cubes.
  3. Make the mayonnaise: whisk 1 raw egg yolk with mustard, lemon juice and a pinch of salt, then drip in the sunflower oil while whisking until thick and glossy.
  4. Hard-boil 2 eggs, peel and chop.
  5. In a large bowl, combine the beef, all the diced vegetables, peas, chopped pickled gogoșari and pickled cucumbers.
  6. Fold in two-thirds of the mayonnaise. Season with salt, white pepper and lemon juice to taste.
  7. Press the salad into a serving dish, smooth the top, and cover with the remaining mayonnaise.
  8. Decorate with hard-boiled egg slices, pickled gogonele, olives and parsley.
  9. Chill at least 2 hours before serving so the flavours bond.

Tip from the editors. All vegetables must be diced the same size: the bite is the dish. The mayonnaise can split if the oil goes in too fast at the start; ease the first 50ml in drop by drop.

Where to eat salată de boeuf

Salată de boeuf in Bucharest

Caru' cu bere ★ 4.6

Traditional Romanian$$$lipscaniMon-Sun 10:00-24:00

The 1879 Caru' cu bere on Stavropoleos serves the soul of Bucharest dining, where mici were recorded in a 1920 chef's letter to the Academy.

Signature: Mici, Sarmale, Papanași

Order: Mici with mustard and ciorbă de burtă, then papanași for dessert.

Tip: Walk-up queues from 12:30 onward; the upstairs hall has the live folk band.

Strada Stavropoleos 5, 030107 București Book →

Hanu' lui Manuc ★ 4.4

Traditional Romanian$$$lipscaniMon-Thu 10:00-24:00; Fri-Sat 10:00-02:00; Sun 10:00-24:00

The 1808 caravanserai-turned-restaurant Hanu' lui Manuc on Franceză serves classic Romanian plates around one of Europe's last remaining inn courtyards.

Signature: Mici, Sarmale, Lamb tochitură

Order: Mici and a lamb tochitură; the cabbage rolls feed two.

Tip: The courtyard fills first; ask for a balcony table inside the U-shaped inn.

Strada Franceză 62-64, 030106 București Book →

Crama Domnească ★ 4.1

Traditional Romanian$$lipscaniTue-Sun 12:00-24:00; Mon 14:00-24:00

Crama Domnească sits in the cellar of the Princely Court on Șelari, the Princely Wine Cellar in Bucharest, with live folk and house wines by carafe.

Signature: Sarmale, Mămăligă, Ciorbă de burtă

Order: Mămăligă with brânză and smântână; a clay-pot tochitură.

Tip: Live taraf music every evening; cash and card both accepted.

Strada Șelari 13-15, Old Town, București

Lacrimi și Sfinți ★ 4.5

Modern Romanian$$$lipscaniMon-Sun 12:00-24:00

Poet Mircea Dinescu's Lacrimi și Sfinți on Șepcari pours wines from his Cetate estate alongside modern Romanian classics in Bucharest Old Town today.

Signature: Sarmale, Mămăligă cu brânză, Slănină plate

Order: The signature sarmale; a glass of Cetate Riesling Italian.

Tip: The wine list is heavy on Dinescu's own bottlings; ask the room for the day's house pour.

Strada Șepcari 16, Old Town, București 030116

Vatra ★ 4.3

Romanian$$cismigiuMon-Sun 12:00-23:30

Vatra on Brezoianu cooks traditional Romanian on bakestones and in tin kettles, in a 1920s Transylvanian interior next to Cișmigiu Park in Bucharest.

Signature: Sarmale, Tochitură, Romanian cheese plate

Order: Sarmale with mămăligă; the cheese plate of Brașov sheep and Sibiu cow.

Tip: The veranda opens May through October; lunch fixed menu is 45 RON.

Strada Ion Brezoianu 19, 010131 București Book →

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