avg —
Layered Chicken Salad with Crispy Potato Straws
Instructions
Prepare the salad ingredients. Dice the cooled cooked chicken, cucumber and tomato. Remove the watery tomato centre and leave the diced tomato in a sieve while you prepare the potatoes. Finely grate the cheese. Stir minced garlic into the mayonnaise. Keep the diced chicken chilled until assembly.
Cut and soak the potatoes. Cut the peeled potatoes into matchsticks about 2 mm thick. Use a julienne grater or a knife. Trim very long strands to 3-4 cm so they are easier to fry and eat. Rinse, then soak in clean cold water for 15 minutes.
Dry the potato straws. Drain the potatoes in a sieve. Spread them over a clean towel and blot with a second towel until no droplets remain. Do not salt them before frying.
Fry in small batches. Heat the oil to 170-175 °C (340-350 °F) in a dry, deep saucepan. The oil should fill no more than a third of the pan. Carefully lower in a small batch of dry potatoes and fry until light golden, about 2-4 minutes per batch. Lift out with a slotted spoon, spread out on paper towels and leave uncovered to cool.
Build the salad. Arrange the chicken, cucumber, tomato and cheese in layers on a flat plate, making each layer slightly narrower than the last. Add thin stripes of garlic mayonnaise over the chicken, cucumber and tomato. Season the vegetables lightly if needed. Just before serving, cover the top and sides with cooled potato straws and scatter sliced spring onion on top.
Keeping the potato topping crisp
Evenly cut straws fry at a similar rate. Wet potatoes can spatter, and too many at once fry unevenly. Blot the straws well, fry in small batches and let the oil come back to temperature between batches.
Do not mix the straws with mayonnaise or put them on a warm salad. For make-ahead prep, chill the chicken, cheese and vegetables separately and fry the potatoes close to serving. Salt the tomato only when assembling so it does not release extra juice in advance.
Portion size and nutrition
Makes 6 servings. Allow about 45 minutes including soaking if your chicken is already cooked and cool. The estimate of 255 kcal per serving assumes that about 15 g of oil remains in the straws for the entire salad. Actual oil absorption was not measured. This recipe has not been tested in the kitchen.
Another way to serve crispy potato straws
Recipe video: How to make Muraveinik chicken salad
Important: The Russian-language video from Gotovim s Lenoy shows a similar version. Use the amounts and layering order in the written recipe for this version.
Illustrations were generated with AI.
FAQ
How is Muraveinik different from Grouse Nest salad? +
Muraveinik is a layered mound of chicken, tomato, cucumber and cheese. The Grouse Nest recipe on this site includes eggs in the base and shapes yolk balls to sit inside the nest.
Can I use ready-made potato straws? +
Yes. Choose thin, crisp potato sticks with mild seasoning. Taste them first and reduce the added salt if needed.
Why did the potato straws go soft? +
Wet potatoes, crowded batches or adding them to the salad too early are common reasons. Dry thoroughly, fry in batches and add to the chilled salad just before serving.
Can I use smoked chicken? +
Yes, as long as it is ready to eat. Remove the skin, dice the meat and taste before adding salt.
What can I make a few hours ahead? +
Dice and refrigerate the ingredients separately at 4 °C (40 °F) or below. Wait to salt the vegetables. Do not leave the finished salad unrefrigerated for more than two hours in total, or one hour above 32 °C (90 °F).
Can I toss the salad instead of layering it? +
Yes. Toss the chicken, vegetables, cheese and dressing, pile them onto a plate and add the crispy potatoes at the end. The topping will be the same, but the layers will not show.
- Comment
or post as a guest
Be the first to comment.
