Rosolli (Finnish Christmas Vegetable Salad)

  • Prep Time - 30 minutes
  • Chilling Time - 2 hours
  • Servings: 6
  • Country: Finland
Rosolli, a pink Finnish vegetable salad, served with a white creamy sauce in a separate bowl.

Rosolli is visually very striking, and thanks to the boiled vegetables and pickled cucumbers, it has a balanced sweet-and-sour taste. It is traditionally served as a 'side dish' to meat, especially ham or baked meatballs during the Christmas holidays.

It is served with a pink or white sauce. The white sauce is usually sour cream with vinegar and sugar, while the pink version is achieved by adding a spoonful of beetroot juice directly to the sour cream.

Ingredients

I. For the Salad

  • 3 pcs (medium) Beetroot (cooked in skin)
  • 3 pcs (medium) Potatoes (cooked in skin)
  • 2 pcs (medium) Carrots (cooked in skin)
  • 3 pcs (large) Pickled Cucumbers
  • 1 pc Apple (tart variety, e.g., Granny Smith)
  • 1 small pc Onion (red or white), finely chopped

II. Sauce (Kastike)

  • 200 ml Sour Cream (18% fat or more)
  • 1 tsp Vinegar (white wine or spirit)
  • 0.5 tsp Sugar
  • 1 to taste Salt and White Pepper

Instructions

Step 1: Preparing and Cooking the Vegetables

Boil the beetroot, potatoes, and carrots in their skins (preferably separately so the beetroot doesn't stain the other vegetables). They should be tender but still hold their shape. Let them cool completely.

Once cooled, peel the vegetables.

Step 2: Dicing

Dice all the boiled vegetables, pickled cucumbers, and apple into small, uniform cubes (about 0.5 - 1 cm).

Finely chop the red onion.

Step 3: Mixing the Salad

In a bowl, mix the diced potatoes, carrots, cucumbers, apple, and onion.

Add the diced beetroot either at the very end and gently fold it in (to lightly color the salad pink), or layer it last for a decorative look. If mixing, do so carefully.

Step 4: Sauce (Kastike)

In a separate bowl, mix the sour cream with vinegar, sugar, salt, and white pepper. You can leave the sauce white, or create a pink sauce by adding 1-2 tablespoons of the boiled beetroot juice.

Serve Rosolli and the sauce separately. The salad should be chilled for at least 2 hours before serving to allow the flavors to meld.