Birch salad with prunes and fresh cucumber. Salad with mushrooms, chicken and prunes “White Birch”

Salad "Birch", also known as " White birch" And " Birch Grove", is the property of Russian cuisine. Similar appetizers can be found in other countries, but the “Berezka” salad with chicken and prunes differs from them in the basic composition and presentation features. It almost always includes cucumbers, mushrooms, eggs, onions and mayonnaise, sometimes other ingredients are included. All of them are laid in layers in the shape of a log, smeared with mayonnaise, decorated with parsley and prunes cut into thin strips. This gives it a resemblance to the trunk of a birch tree, which is one of the symbols of Russia. The taste and presentation of the snack make it worthy of a festive table, where it will become one of the main decorations. The “Prague”, “Overture” and “Marseille” salads have a similar composition, the recipes for which, together with classic version“Birches” will be given in this material.

Culinary secrets

Recipes for Berezka salad are varied, and the technology for their preparation is not always identical. However, we can offer readers a few general rules, which will make the snack especially tasty, beautiful and healthy.

White Birch salad is a layered salad, so it must be prepared 2-3 hours before serving so that the layers have time to soak in the sauce.
Be sure to cool the ingredients before assembling the salad until room temperature, otherwise the salad will quickly spoil.
Try not to change the sequence of food placement recommended in the recipe.
Before chopping, it is recommended to steam the prunes by keeping them in warm water for 20-30 minutes.
The salad will be tastier if the onions are marinated beforehand. To do this, the vegetable is crushed and immersed in lemon juice or vinegar diluted with water for at least half an hour. For taste, you can add sugar, salt, and seasonings to the marinade.
If you want to reduce the calorie content of a dish, use it boiled fillet chicken breast, fresh cucumbers, reduce the number of eggs to a minimum, do not fry the mushrooms, but boil them or use canned ones. Mayonnaise can be replaced Greek yogurt or sour cream, but this will affect the taste of the snack.

Show your imagination by decorating the dish before serving - your guests will certainly appreciate it.

Classic recipe for “Berezka” salad with mushrooms

What you need:

boiled chicken breast(fillet) – 0.4 kg;
champignons – 0.4 kg;
onion – 0.2 kg;
cucumbers (fresh or pickled) – 0.3 kg;
chicken egg – 3 pcs.;
pitted prunes – 150 g;
vegetable oil, mayonnaise - how much will be needed;
greens - for decoration.

How to cook:

Boil chicken breast and eggs. Cool.
Separate the fillet from the bone by removing the skin. Cut the fillet into small cubes.
Peel and grate the eggs.
Cut the cucumbers into cubes or strips.
Pour boiling water over the prunes. After 20 minutes, drain the water, dry the dried fruits with a towel, and cut into strips. Set aside some to decorate the dish.
Cut the mushrooms into slices, fry in oil along with onion cut into thin half rings.
On a rectangular or oval shaped dish (or in the same salad bowl), place in layers: half the chicken, prunes, cucumbers, remaining chicken, champignons, eggs. Coat all layers with mayonnaise.

All that remains is to decorate the salad with herbs and prunes set aside, let it soak for a couple of hours, putting it in the refrigerator during this time. In restaurants, the classic recipe is often changed slightly, including nuts and slightly adjusting the cooking technology.

Restaurant version of “Berezki” with nuts

What you need:

chicken breast (fillet), smoked or baked – 0.4 kg;
porcini mushrooms or champignons – 0.2 kg;
chicken egg – 0.5 dozen;
onion – 75 g;
kernels walnuts- cup;
pitted prunes – 10-12 pcs.;
fresh or pickled cucumbers – 0.2 kg;
butter – 40 g;
mayonnaise - how much will it take?

How to cook:

Cut the chicken fillet into small cubes and divide into 2 parts. Place one of them in the shape of a rectangle on an oval dish, brush with mayonnaise.
Cut the steamed prunes into strips, place two thirds of them on the chicken, leave the rest for decoration, cover with a thin mesh of mayonnaise.
Crush the nuts in a mortar or blender and sprinkle them over the prunes.
Peel the cucumbers, chop into thin strips, place on the nuts, brush with sauce.
Place the remaining chicken on the cucumbers and brush with mayonnaise.
Cut the mushrooms into strips, the onions into small pieces. Fry in butter, place in the next layer. Cover it with mayonnaise mesh.
Grate the eggs, mix with mayonnaise, place on top, brush with another layer of mayonnaise.
Arrange the prune straws. Additionally, you can decorate the salad with herbs.

This version of the White Birch salad in a banquet version is suitable for any celebration, including a wedding, anniversary or on an ordinary day birthdays, Valentine's Day and March 8th.

A simple version of “Berezka” (home-style, without mushrooms)

What you need:

boiled chicken meat – 0.3 kg;
pitted prunes – 100-120 g;
egg – 4 pcs.;
onion – 75 g;
mayonnaise - how much will it take?

How to cook:

Meat boiled chicken finely chop.
Cut the onion into quarters of rings. Marinate or scald with boiling water. Squeeze.
Steam the prunes and dry. Cut into strips.
Grate hard-boiled eggs.
Layer or mix chicken, onions, prunes, eggs. Lubricate the layers with mayonnaise or season the salad with it.
Decorate the dish with pieces of dried fruit and herbs.

This salad can be prepared on a quick fix for dinner or for the unexpected arrival of guests.

“Berezka” with apple and cheese

What you need:

boiled chicken – 0.3 kg;
apples – 0.4 kg;
eggs – 4 pcs.;
pickled onions – 150 g;
prunes – 100 g;
cheese – 0.2 kg;
mayonnaise, herbs - as much as it takes.

How to cook:

Marinate onions, cut into rings, in a vinegar solution, mixing it with hot water in a ratio of 1:3.
Peel the apples from the core and peel. Coarsely grate and squeeze.
Cut dried fruits into strips.
Whites and yolks boiled eggs grate separately.
Finely grate the cheese.
Place the onion inside the cooking ring, place the chicken on it, brush with mayonnaise.
Sprinkle with yolks, add prunes and apples. If desired, you can omit the prune layer and use it only to decorate the dish.
Sprinkle with cheese, egg whites, and coat with sauce.

All that remains is to decorate the salad to your liking. When it has cooled, remove the cooking ring and serve the appetizer to the table. She has a gentle fresh taste, which the ladies will like. If you replace mayonnaise with sour cream or white yogurt, you will succeed dietary option"Berezka" salad.

Salad "Marseille" with chicken, prunes and carrots

What you need:

boiled chicken fillet – 180 g;
dried prunes – 80 g;
boiled carrots (can be replaced Korean snack) – 100 g;
garlic – 2 cloves;
walnut kernels – 40 g;
chicken egg – 2 pcs.;
cheese – 100 g;
mayonnaise – 0.25 l;
basil - for decoration.

How to cook:

Cut the chicken into cubes, prunes into strips.
Cheese and boiled eggs grate coarsely, mix, adding garlic and mayonnaise passed through a press.
Layer the chicken first, then the prunes, then the carrots, coating the layers with mayonnaise.
Cover with a layer of cheese and eggs.
Garnish with crushed nuts and herbs.

There are no onions or mushrooms in the recipe, but there are carrots and garlic. The salad tastes even more piquant than the classic “Beryozka”. The presentation of the snacks is also different.

“Overture” salad with chicken and prunes - an analogue of “Beryozka”

What you need:

chicken fillet – 0.25 kg;
pickled mushrooms – 0.25 kg;
cheese – 100 g;
walnuts – 0.5 cups;
prunes – 100 g;
onion – 50 g;
mayonnaise – 150 ml.

How to cook:

Grind all ingredients and mix separately with mayonnaise. Do not mix only nuts with the sauce.
Place in a salad bowl in the following order: mushrooms, onions, chicken, prunes, cheese, nuts.

The taste of the “Overture” salad is not at all like “Beryozka”, although they use a similar set of ingredients.

Chicken Prague salad with prunes

What you need:

boiled or smoked chicken breast (fillet) – 0.3 kg;
carrots – 0.2 kg;
pickled cucumbers – 0.2 kg;
canned green peas- jar;
onion – 1 head;
dried prunes – 150 g;
chicken egg – 2-3 pcs.;
lemon juice – 20 ml;
water – 40 ml;
mayonnaise - how much will it take?

How to cook:

Cut the onion into half rings, marinate in a mixture of hot water and lemon juice.
Pour boiling water over the prunes, dry after 20 minutes, cut into strips.
Also cut the chicken.
Grate the boiled eggs.
Boil the carrots and chop them on a grater.
Finely chop the cucumbers.
Layer the inside of the cake baking ring, covering each ingredient with a mayonnaise mesh: chicken, onions, cucumbers, eggs, carrots, green peas. Add the prunes last, without covering them with sauce.

Externally, the salad resembles a cake; it is not at all similar to the Russian “Beryozka” in appearance, but is very reminiscent of it in taste.

Salad "Berezka" with chicken and prunes can decorate festive table. It looks good on a table set on the occasion of a lady’s birthday, March 8, Family Day, Love and Fidelity (Peter and Fevronya Day), February 14, as well as a wedding anniversary.

The delicious “Birch” or “Russian Birch” salad is a themed appetizer that looks very cute on a holiday table.

And on New Year's table the more pleasant it is to put this small piece summer in the form of a birch tree.

We cook “Berezka” salad with everything for the holiday! There is no single recipe; few people remember which of all the classic options.

In this version with chicken ( chicken fillet) and mushrooms, the cucumber gives the appetizer freshness, and the prunes add a special charm to the appetizer.

The design of the Berezki salad is not difficult; its meaning is that stripes are laid out on a white background with pieces of chopped olives or prunes, like on a tree.

The simplest dish decoration looks like this:

Birch salad photo

But you can use your imagination and lay out the trunk of a tree, decorate it with herbs and even mushrooms.

How to prepare Berezka salad

Ingredients:

chicken fillet - 300-400 g
champignon mushrooms – 200 g
onion - 1 pc.
eggs - 3 pcs
fresh cucumbers - 2 pcs.
prunes – 100 g
peeled walnuts - 80 g
mayonnaise
green
vegetable oil

Recipe for Berezka salad with prunes:

1. Boil the chicken until tender in salted water. Cut the fillet into strips.

2. Chop the onion and fry it in vegetable oil until half cooked.

3. Cut the champignons into cubes or strips. Add to the onion and fry together for 7-10 minutes, add salt and pepper.

4. Boil the eggs hard. Separate the yolks and whites and grate separately.

5. Soak the prunes in hot water and leave for 10-15 minutes. Then drain the water and dry. Set aside a couple of berries for decoration and cut them into thin strips, cut the remaining prunes into cubes.

6. Chop the cucumbers into thin strips. Grate the nuts.

7. Lay out the salad in layers, covering each layer with mayonnaise:

prunes
nuts
mushrooms with onions
yolks
chicken meat
cucumbers
squirrels

Decorate the top of the salad with strips of prunes in the shape of a birch trunk.

Birch salad without prunes video

No less popular is the Berezka salad with chicken and champignons, which does not include prunes.

Ingredients:

champignons – 300 g
chicken fillet - 300 gr.
pickled cucumbers - 5-6 pcs.
egg - 5 pcs.
green onion - 50 g
mayonnaise

Step by step recipe:

Berezka salad can also be prepared with cheese, ham, beef, pickled mushrooms, chicken and apple, smoked chicken, cabbage, potatoes, kiwi, olives, liver, crab sticks, tongue.

1 . Cut the prunes into thin slices and place on the bottom of the salad bowl.

2 . Peel the onion and cut into thin half rings. In a heated frying pan with vegetable oil sauté the onion for 1 minute until it softens and changes color and becomes more transparent. Then place the champignons cut into thin slices into the frying pan, add salt and fry for another 3-5 minutes until tender. Don't forget to stir periodically to prevent the mushrooms from burning. Place a second layer of salad.

3. Sirloin Boil chicken until done. Cool and cut into thin strips or cubes. Place the third layer of Birch salad.

4 . Then generously (pay attention to the word “amply”, otherwise the salad will turn out a little dry) with mayonnaise.

5 . Boil the eggs, separate the yolks and whites. Grind the yolks, you can grate them. Sprinkle on top of the mayonnaise layer.

6 . Fresh cucumber cut into thin strips and place in a salad bowl.

7 . The top layer of Berezka lettuce will be made from grated egg whites mixed with mayonnaise.

8 . The resulting salad should be decorated in the shape of a birch tree. You can use our idea or look at the photos in the recipes below. Or show your imagination.

Delicious “Berezka” salad is ready

Bon appetit!

Often salads differ from each other not so much in the set of products as in the design. Typical example- Birch salad. It seems that standard ingredients coupled with a non-standard design make it not only tasty, but also beautiful snack with a wonderful name.
By the way, Berezka is not only name of this salad. In some culinary publications this dish called Birch Grove or White Birch. And in European countries, approximately the same layered salad has nothing to do with wood at all. Somewhere it is called Milan, somewhere Prague, and somewhere else it’s called Overture. But enough about the names. It's time to move on to the main thing - preparing Birch salad.

Birch salad with carrots and cheese

This is one of the easiest versions of Berezka salad to prepare, because in in this case There is no need to lay out anything in layers. Thanks to the carrots, such an appetizer turns out to be very delicate in taste, and the presence of cheese in its composition gives the dish some piquancy. To prepare Birch according to this recipe you need to take:

chicken– 300 g (you can take boiled, smoked, fried or baked);
prunes– 200 g;
carrot– 2 root vegetables;
eggs– 6 pcs.;
cheese durum varieties – 200 g;
– for refueling;
black olives or black olives for garnish– 2-3 fruits;
salt, herbs and pepper- to taste.

Pour boiling water over the prunes and leave to steep for 20 minutes. Then place them on a paper towel to remove any remaining liquid and cut into strips. Grate the carrots on a shredder, place in a preheated frying pan, add a little water and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Cheese, boiled egg whites and grate the yolks. For cheese it is better to use a shredder, and for eggs a fine grater is suitable. Also cut the chicken into thin strips.
Assembling the salad takes a couple of minutes. Mix all ingredients except egg yolks in a salad bowl, add salt, season with spices and season with mayonnaise. Sprinkle the surface of the salad on top egg yolks, draw birch trunks with mayonnaise, and make stripes on them from olives or prunes cut into strips. The crown of birch trees is imitated by finely chopped greens.
The salad needs to be put in the refrigerator for at least an hour and a half, after which you can start tasting.

Birch salad with chicken, prunes and corn

This version of Birch salad with chicken and prunes contains two new ingredients - corn and potatoes, which make the appetizer very satisfying. In this case, there is also no need to “layer” anything. All prepared products are eventually mixed. And you will have to combine in one salad bowl:

chicken– 400 g (smoked chicken is considered the best option);
prunes– 150 g;
boiled potatoes– 2 root vegetables;
hard boiled eggs– 3 pcs.;
fresh cucumber– 1 pc. (approximately 150 g);
corn– 1/2 can (approximately 150-200 g);
walnuts– 150 g;
mayonnaise or other sauce based on it e – for refueling;
salt, herbs and pepper- to taste.

Pour boiling water over the prunes, dry after 10-15 minutes and cut into cubes. Grind the remaining ingredients into cube-shaped pieces as well. The only exceptions are walnuts (it is better to grind them in a blender), corn (you just need to drain the brine from the jar) and greens (just finely chop them).
Place the ingredients, except nuts, in a salad bowl, season with seasonings and spices, add mayonnaise and stir well. Sprinkle chopped nuts on top and draw birch trees with mayonnaise. Decorate the sauce trees with chopped herbs. The salad can be served immediately, or you can let it sit in the refrigerator for a while.

Birch salad with prunes and pineapple

Pineapple has long ceased to be something exotic in our country. This is probably why it became one of the components of many salads. He did not ignore the Russian Birch. For this snack you need to purchase:

chicken
prunes– 200 g;
canned pineapples– 200 g;
hard boiled eggs– 5 pcs.;
pickled cucumber– 1 pc. (can be salted);
hard cheese– 200 g;
mayonnaise or other sauce based on it– for refueling;
salt, allspice, bay- for cooking chicken.
salt, herbs and pepper- to taste.

This version of Birch is already a classic layered salad, therefore, the preparation of ingredients should be more thorough.
It's worth starting with meat. Firstly, it is better to boil it. Secondly, it is better to cook in a little salt water with spices. As such, the optimal solution is laurel and allspice peas It is better to cool the chicken together with the broth and only after it has completely cooled, remove the meat and cut into thin strips.
In the same way, cut prunes, pre-soaked for 15-20 minutes in hot water. Welded in hard eggs grate on the finest grater. Do the same operation with cheese. Chop the pineapple pieces and cucumber relatively finely.
Now about the assembly. Place prunes as the bottom layer, but not all of them. A few stripes should be left for decoration. Coat this layer with mayonnaise. Next comes a layer of chicken. It can be peppered and, if necessary, salted. Mayonnaise again. Place pineapples on it and brush with sauce. Then put the cucumbers, then the egg and again mayonnaise. Top the salad with cheese and also spread with dressing sauce.
The salad should be decorated with strips of prunes, which will imitate birch bark, and the end of the appetizer should be decorated with herbs. Ready salad place in the refrigerator for 45-60 minutes and then serve.

Birch salad with apple, prunes and chicken

If you don’t have an exotic pineapple in the house, you can prepare a birch salad using a more congenial fruit – an apple. For this variation you need to prepare:

chicken fillet– 300 g (the best option is chicken breast);
prunes– 200 g;
sour apple– 2 pcs.;
hard boiled eggs– 3 pcs.;
onions– 2 heads;
hard cheese– 200 g;
mayonnaise or other sauce based on it– for refueling;
vegetable oil- for frying.
salt, herbs and pepper- to taste.

Cut the cooled boiled chicken fillet into cubes. Grind the prunes, already steamed for 15-20 minutes in boiling water, in the same way. Fry onion cut into half rings in oil. Using a fine grater, grate the egg whites and yolks separately. Remove the skins and cores from the apples, then grate them on a shredder and squeeze out the juice, which you can drink since it is not needed in the salad. Grate the cheese too on a coarse grater.
Place prunes on a platter and spread mayonnaise on them. Then comes the fried onion, on which you need to put the chicken fillet. This layer should be salted, peppered and brushed with dressing. Top with egg whites, apples and a layer of mayonnaise. Sprinkle the salad with grated cheese and sprinkle the egg yolks evenly over it. Coat the top of the salad with mayonnaise, decorate with strips of prunes so that it looks like birch bark and parsley leaves. Put the finished Birch in the cold, and after an hour and a half take it out to guests or household members for testing.

Berezka salad with chicken, prunes and pickled cucumbers

A delicious salad with chicken and prunes a la Berezka can be prepared if you have some mushrooms in the refrigerator. For it you need to take the following products:

chicken fillet– 300 g (the best option is chicken breast);
prunes– 200 g;
boiled potatoes– 2 root vegetables;
champignons– 300 g;
pickled cucumber– 1 pc. (can be salted);
vegetable oil- for frying.
mayonnaise or other sauce based on it– for refueling;
salt, allspice, bay leaf - for cooking chicken.
salt, herbs and pepper- to taste.

Boil the chicken breast with the indicated spices, cool directly in the broth and chop finely. Boiled potatoes, prunes soaked in boiling water and pickled cucumber cut small cubes. Cut the mushrooms into thin slices, put them in a frying pan with oil, salt and pepper and fry. Coarsely chop the greens.
It is not necessary to lay out this version of Birch in layers. Simply mix all the ingredients in a salad bowl, add salt and season with mayonnaise. But you can also make a real Birch. In this case, the sequence of layers will be as follows: prunes, mayonnaise, chicken meat (salt and pepper), sauce, potatoes (lightly salted), cucumbers, mayonnaise, mushrooms, mayonnaise. You can decorate the salad “under a birch tree” in the same way as the previous variations.

In fact, the salad with chicken and prunes makes the Birch salad just a decoration. In principle, any snack can be decorated in this way, and not just puff pastries. And, by the way, about the design. Interesting taste and ordinary ground black pepper will give the salad a similarity to birch bark if mixed with mayonnaise. You can lubricate all layers of the salad with this dressing, or you can make a little of it - only for the very top layer.

Video recipe “Berezka salad with chicken and prunes”

For 6 servings we need:

Smoked chicken breast - 300 g (or half a breast)
Pitted prunes - 100 g
Walnuts- 9 cores (18 halves)
Fresh cucumber - 1 pc. large size (100-120 g)
Raw onion - ½ large onion
Raw champignons - 200 g
Eggs (hard-boiled) - 6 pcs.
Mayonnaise - 100 g + 50 g for presentation
Salt, black pepper - to taste

How to cook - step by step

First, briefly - the algorithm for laying layers:

2/3 prunes (cut into strips)
Chopped walnuts
1/4 mixture grated egg with mayonnaise
Cucumber sticks
1/4 mixture of grated egg and mayonnaise
1/2 chicken fillet (cut into strips)
1/4 mixture of grated egg and mayonnaise
Champignons fried with onions

Cool for 2 hours.

Coat with mayonnaise + decor with strips of prunes “like a birch tree”

Let's describe step by step recipe and show you the nuances with photos.

Let's prepare the prunes.

Pour prunes cold water at least for 20 minutes. This will remove industrial impurities that are harmful to health. Drain the water and scald with boiling water. Drain hot water and place the dried fruits on a paper towel, drying them second from top. Our goal is to make prunes as dry as possible.

We cut it into thin slices, setting aside a third of the slices for decoration.

Fry mushrooms with onions.

Chop the onion to taste. We like it to be felt, so we don’t make it too small. We also cut the champignons to suit ourselves, the thickness of the piece is close to the size of an onion. Fry the mushrooms and onions in a preheated frying pan over moderate heat, stirring constantly. The goal is a transparent bow and slightly golden brown crust on champignons.

Cooking egg mixture with mayonnaise.

Three boiled eggs on a fine grater and mix with mayonnaise. Salt and pepper to taste.

This simple arrangement is the main salad filler for a delicate texture. We coat it 4 times between other layers.

Cut the remaining ingredients.

It’s delicious to cut the remaining products for “Berezka” into cubes, as shown in the photo below. Chicken fillet and fresh cucumber(if it is thin-skinned, then you don’t have to clean it).

Chop the walnuts with a sharp knife. Another quick way: Place in a paper towel and hit it on top with a heavy kitchen tool (rolling pin, flat side of a hammer). How hard to grind - decide for yourself.

It is worth considering that the salad will steep for 2 hours, the nuts will be saturated with moisture, so we like to chop them coarsely.

Assemble the salad in layers.

Take a rectangular baking dish and line it with cling film.

We lay the layers as described in the algorithm at the beginning of the recipe.

It’s easy to coat the egg mixture with a tablespoon, but it’s quickest to use a silicone spatula.

Press down the top layer well fried mushrooms.

The final step - coat with mayonnaise and decorate - we don't do it!

First, cover the mold with film and put the salad in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

Remove from the refrigerator and turn the salad onto a plate. Remove the film, coat with mayonnaise (reserve 50 g) and decorate with strips of prunes (reserve 1/3 of the slices).