I was looking for Paul Newman, dressed as a Russian Tsar.
I could not find him.
I was in my local market, trying to buy a bottle of Russian salad dressing. No luck with Newman’s brand. Or any other. No one makes Russian dressing. No one. How can that be? After all, it was created here in America, not in Russia.
Russian dressing is that smooth, salmon-colored dressing you find at burger joints. I was in a burger mood, and I wanted that dressing, and I was out of luck.
My journey to obtaining Russian dressing was longer than I expected. I went home and began research. I tried different cookbooks and the web. Here’s the summary: there is absolutely no consensus on what should be in Russian dressing, or the proportions. Something white: mayo or yogurt generally. Something red: ketchup or cocktail sauce. But after that, different recipes suggest everything: Worchester sauce, hot sauce, onion, pickle relish, horseradish, celery salt, onion salt, celery seeds, mustard seeds, …
Suzen said it should be mayo, ketchup, and cornichon juice. When she was growing up, she remembers just mayo and ketchup. But maybe …
I experimented. The ingredients that some recipes specify, those salts or seeds, come free with pickles. And pickles are good. Suzen had said cornichon juice. So, I did both: the juice and the cornichons.
I made the recipe below and I found it ideal for the burger. And for the fries. This dressing is so easy to make, that I won’t be haunting the supermarket aisles searching for a picture of Russian tsar anymore.
Brian’s Russian Dressing
Ingredients
2/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup ketchup
5 cornichons, diced
2 teaspoons cornichon juice
1 shallot diced
Dash of black pepper
Preparation
Place the mayonnaise and ketchup in a bowl and whisk. Add the cornichons, cornichon juice and onions and whisk to mix. Add the pepper and stir until the pepper has disappeared. Serve immediately or refrigerate.
Source: Brian O’Rourke