the salad thing

Another thing I went on about a lot last year was how I could not handle Russian salads - the mashed-up, brightly coloured, multi-layer, compressed and cake-like offerings seem like everything that is the opposite of saladness.

So I don't know why, but suddenly I have started to really like them, salads like Mimosa, Herring Fur Coat and Salad Olivier (which confused me to start with as it looks like what the English call Russian salad, and I thought until recently was called Olive salad, but without any olives).

Mimosa (pictured) comprises soggy layers of egg, carrot, green onion, fish, rice and mayonnaise - lots of mayo -  and with the hard-boiled egg yolks grated on the top to give a nice bright yellow surface. Here is the recipe for all you potential converts. I'm completely hooked, its like a whole meal and as comforting as porridge.