Most eaten tapas

Russian salad, as strange as it may sound, is most famous in Spain and is the most typical form of tapas, especially in the province of Murcia. Known as “ensalada rusa,” it’s similar to our huzarenslade but with fish instead of meat, featuring basic ingredients like potatoes, mayonnaise, eggs, and tuna.

I often order Russian salad because it’s filling and always available, unlike tortilla sometimes. You can order it with bread, but it’s especially popular served on a kind of curved breadstick called an Almonteño. The salad is placed on the stick like a canapé, known as a “Bicicleta.” The fancier version with an anchovy on top is called “Marinero,” and with a sardine, it’s “Marinera.”

You can buy these curved sourdough breadsticks at any supermarket, and of course, the salad is best with homemade mayonnaise. You can play around with ingredients based on what you have available—pickles, sweet onion, pickled green peppers, carrots, etc.

Here’s the basic recipe:

Ingredients for 6 people:

• 1 kg new potatoes for boiling

• 200 g mixed vegetables/pickles

• 4 hard-boiled eggs

• 250 g well-drained canned tuna

• 300 g mayonnaise

Place the potatoes in a pot of water with a tablespoon of salt. Bring to a boil and simmer until the potatoes are easily pierced with a toothpick, about 40 minutes.

Boil the eggs for 12 minutes over low heat. Place them in a bowl of ice water.

Drain and finely chop the mixed vegetables with a knife. Add the mashed canned tuna pieces.

Peel and dice the cooled potatoes. Mash them with a fork. Combine the peeled, chopped eggs, mixed vegetables, tuna, and mayonnaise (reserving two tablespoons) in a large bowl. Chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

Transfer the salad to an oval or rectangular dish. Top with a few tablespoons of mayonnaise and garnish the surface with grated hard-boiled egg.