They say that Estonians are the most stationary nation in Europe – thousands of years ago, our forefathers gathered on this land and decided to stay. We carry with us traditions and wisdom that has been passed down from generation to generation. The roots of our story go way back. Now we look back and appreciate our old recipes and ancient customs. We want to prepare traditional dishes in a way that all Estonians know and love while also adding a contemporary touch.

Estonian peasants regarded mushrooms primarily as a food consumed during famine or war periods. Mushroom foraging and cooking with mushrooms was more wide-spread in Eastern and South-Eastern parts of Estonia, which had received more Slavic influences. Mushrooms as food gained wider popularity in the 20th century, when they were introduced in magazines and various workshops as tasty and healthy vegetarian food. Mushrooming became a national hobby during Soviet times, when any festivities could not be considered a proper celebration without pickled mushrooms or mushroom salad.

• Course: starter
• Serves: 4
• Preparation time: 30 min
• Setting time: up to 2 h
• Difficulty: easy

Ingredients

200 g salted mushrooms
100 g cottage cheese
70 g sour cream
3 eggs
50 g pearl onions
100 g marinated mushrooms
20 g green onion
5 g dill
Salt
Pepper

Directions

1. Wash the salted mushrooms under cold, running water and leave to soak for a couple of hours, occasionally changing the water. Washing might be enough for less salted mushrooms. Fried or boiled mushrooms can be used when fresh mushrooms are not in season.
2. Press the soaked mushrooms dry between your hands or leave to drip-dry on a sieve.
3. There are two ways to make this salad. Either fry the mushrooms with a touch of oil in a pan or leave them completely untreated after washing.
4. Hard-boil the eggs for about 10-12 minutes (depending on their size). Cool and peel the eggs. Chop, grate or crush the eggs with a fork, as you prefer.
5. Chop the green onion and dill and cut the pearl onions in half. You can replace the green onion with a regular onion or use both.
6. Mix all of the components together and season with pepper. Check if it needs salt. If you are using salted mushrooms, extra salt might not be needed.
7. Serve as a separate salad or as a side dish.

Photos by: Johannes Hõimoja