This savory salad cake is an Eastern European spin-off of the traditional Swedish sandwich cake.
It’s made of four separate layers of shredded boiled potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, pickled carrots and mayonnaise.
As you’ll see, this salad cake is extremely easy to make and takes no more than 40 minutes to prepare.
Easy Savory Salad Cake
Even though I love eating savory salad cake, I can never swallow the fact that it is considered a salad.
In my humble opinion, this variation of the traditional Swedish Smorgastarta recipe is much closer to a multi-layered sub covered in mayonnaise than an actual salad.
That’s why I decided to give this dish a complete makeover by substituting the bread with boiled potatoes and adding some pickled carrots.
And on top of piling a few layers of grated potatoes, carrots and boiled eggs I decided to cover the entire salad in grated Provolone cheese.
Some of you are probably lifting your eyebrows at this seemingly bizarre combination of ingredients.
However, I can assure you that all of these ingredients complement each other perfectly and create a symphony of flavors.
Ingredients you’ll need
- Potatoes – Potatoes will serve as a base and the main source of carbohydrates for this salad. I’m using Russet potatoes due to their high starch content, but you can also use Yukon golds. It’s also a good idea to use potatoes that aren’t too soft so you don’t ruin the texture of the salad.
- Pickled carrots – The pickled carrots will improve the texture and give the salad a slightly tangy taste.
- Mayonnaise – Mayo acts as a binder that keeps all of the ingredients together and provides the salad with structure.
- Hard-boiled eggs – The shredded hard-boiled eggs represent the final layer of this salad cake. They’re used mostly as a source of nutrition and a flavor balancing agent. If you aren’t sure when your hard-boiled eggs are done, you can check this article.
- Cheese – This recipe is made with Provolone, but you can use any semi-hard cheese or mozzarella instead.
How to prepare
Check out the recipe card at the end of this article for detailed, step-by-step instructions.
Grate the boiled potatoes, hard-boiled eggs and pickled carrots in three separate dishes.
Season the potatoes with salt and pepper.
Mix the potatoes with your hands until the seasonings are well combined.
Transfer the potatoes onto a plate, then smooth out their top and edges with your hands.
Spread the mayonnaise on top of the potatoes with a spatula.
Continue by layering the pickled carrots and grated eggs on top. The eggs and carrots should be divided into two separate layers.
Cover the entire salad with the grated cheese. Decorate with pickled olives and keep refrigerated for at least an hour.
Variations
- Substitute the potatoes with bread – The traditional Smorgastarta recipe is made with layers of bread which are covered with various fillings. Therefore, for a more classic approach to this recipe, you can substitute the potatoes and carrots with bread, and play around with the fillings.
- Add some cured meat – Including bacon, ham or bologna sausage will add another layer of flavor to this salad. If you opt to add cured meat, I recommend mixing it with the mayo and skipping the pickled carrots.
- Use pickles – If you can’t find pickled carrots or you simply don’t like their taste, you can use a jar of pickles instead. This way, the overall texture of the salad will remain mostly intact.
- Mix in some seafood – Smoked salmon and imitation crab meat will blend fantastically with the mayo. Don’t forget to check the internal temperature of smoked salmon if you’re about to smoke it yourself.
I can’t talk about my Salad Cake and not mention my Potato Salad With Pickles which is somewhat similar in ingredients. Also, if you’re a potato dish lover, please don’t hesitate to try my Shredded Potato Casserole Recipe.
Storage
If you have any leftover savory salad cake, you can safely store it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Make sure you wrap the salad in plastic wrap or place it in an airtight container to keep it moist.
For longer storage, you should transfer the salad into a freezer-safe container and keep it in the freezer.
When kept frozen, savory salad cake will remain safe to eat for no longer than 3 months.
↑ Click stars to rate now!
Easy Savory Salad Cake
Ingredients
- 1 pound potatoes
- 1/2 pound pickled carrots
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 pound provolone cheese
- stuffed green olives
- parsley
Instructions
- Boil the potatoes and eggs in two separate pots.
- In the meantime, grate the pickled carrots into large pieces using a cheese grater.
- Let the eggs cool down in cold water to stop their cooking. Afterward, peel and grate the eggs on a plate.
- Remove the potato skins and grate the potatoes into large pieces.
- Season the potatoes with salt and pepper, then gently mix them using your hands. Avoid squashing the potatoes as this will give them a tough texture.
- Transfer the potatoes onto a bigger plate and shape them in the form of a circle using your hands.
- Layer the mayonnaise on top of the potatoes using a spatula.
- Spread the grated carrots over the mayonnaise.
- Put the grated eggs on top of the carrots.
- Grate the provolone over the entire salad until it's completely covered with cheese.
- Decorate the salad with the sliced olives and parsley.
- Refrigerate the salad for at least an hour.
Video
Notes
- I recommend to refrigerate the salad cake for 3 hours before serving. This will help the ingredients stick together and prevent them from falling apart.
- You can experiment with the decorations and use pitted black olives, smoked salmon rosettes, or thin strips of cucumber or cucumber peels.
- This salad cake recipe is so versatile it can be served as an appetizer, a side dish, or even as a main course. It's also amazing for kids' Birthday parties or big family holidays like Easter, Thanksgiving, or Christmas, as it can be made year-round.
↑ Click stars to rate now!
Nutrition
I do my best to provide you with the nutritional information for recipes but I'm not a certified nutritionist. The nutritional information provided should only be treated as an estimate since it will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.