Ensaladilla Rusa

Scrub the potatoes clean but leave the skins on. Put them in a pot, cover with cold water and set it over a gentle heat.

💡 Starting in cold water lets the outside and the middle cook at the same pace. Dropped into boiling water, the outside goes to mush first.

Peel the 4 carrots and add them to the same pot. Let everything simmer gently for 25 minutes.

After the 25 minutes, lower the 2 eggs into the pot and add 1 tablespoon of salt. Cook everything together for 10 minutes more.

💡 One pot, one hob, one timer. This staggered order is the whole reason the recipe stays easy.

Drain off the water and leave everything to cool until it is just warm and comfortable to handle.

💡 Warm potato absorbs the dressing better than fridge-cold potato, but hot potato melts mayonnaise into oil. Warm, not hot.

Set the carrots aside on a plate. Peel the potatoes — the skins should slip off with your fingers — and peel the eggs.

Cut the potato and the eggs into small, even dice, roughly the size of a pea.

💡 Even dice is what makes ensaladilla taste like one dish instead of a bowl of separate ingredients. Take the extra minute.

Cut each carrot lengthwise into four long quarters, stack the strips, then cut across them into small pieces.

Halve the 20 olives, then slice them finely so they disappear into the salad rather than sitting on top of it.

Tip the potato, egg, carrot and olives into a large bowl — big enough that you can fold without pressing everything against the sides.

Add the 3 tablespoons of peas and the drained tuna, flaked apart with a fork.

Spoon in the mayonnaise and fold it through gently, turning from the bottom up, until everything is coated and no white streaks remain.

💡 Fold, never stir hard. Beaten potato turns to paste and the salad loses its texture completely.

Taste and adjust the salt. Tuna, olives and mayonnaise all bring salt of their own, so check before you add any.

Smooth the top, chill for at least 30 minutes, then serve cold with a sprig of parsley on top.

💡 Ensaladilla is better on day one and worse on day three. Make it the morning you plan to eat it.