Insalata Russa

This caloric bomb hardly counts as a salad, but "Russian Salad" is an antipasto staple, and frequently comes out at Christmas lunch with the Nonna Angela.

Boiled potatoes, carrots, peas, chopped prosciutto cotto (ham), and a jar of pickled mixed vegetables are tossed in an abundance of mayonnaise, and served along side sliced meats, cheeses, olives, mushrooms, and crunchy grissini. It can also be plopped into the middle of a large slice of prosciutto cotto and rolled up.


You might have the misleading impression that this is essentially an italianized potato salad, but as you can see in the photo, "swimming in mayo" doesn't begin to cover it. Whereas in America you can spot nice big chunks of potato, here they're negligible. The potato, peas, carrots and other ingredients are simply a justification for eating spoon-fulls of pure mayonnaise.

Obviously it tastes really good (add enough fat or sugar to anything and it's bound to be awesome), and just looking at this picture probably makes all the bathroom scales of the world tremble with fear... but it's Christmas, and I can pretty much justify anything for the day.