One of our son-in-laws was born and raised in Russia. He came to the United States when he was 14, so he has vivid memories of the food he grew up eating. On New Year’s, he brought over a few of his favorite dishes and this was one of them.
His recipe used rice but I didn’t have any, so I substituted couscous. It gave it a totally different texture and taste, but was still very good. Use rice (1 1/2 cups) if you want a more authentic taste.
INGREDIENTS
1 pound Imitation Crab Meat, diced
1 cup couscous (or rice) cooked
1 can whole kernel corn, well drained
1 small can English peas, well drained
3 carrots, cooked until just tender and diced the size of corn and peas
4 hard boiled eggs, diced
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon dill seed
salt & pepper to taste
The most difficult part of this recipe is cooking the couscous/rice, boiling the eggs, and dicing everything into a similar size. The rest is tossing everything into a large bowl and mixing well. Even young children can make this simple, delicious dish.
I used this brand of imitation crab meat. Honestly, I had always thought it was just a bunch of chemicals and additives thrown together with a few seasonings, but I was wrong! I was pleasantly surprised to find that it contains pollock, crab, and lobster, along with the chemicals and additives HA!
This could be served in a variety of different ways. It would be great served in endive leaves as a salad, but we like it as a snack with crackers.
I should add, this recipe will feed a very large family, a small battalion of Marines, or a few teenage boys. It can easily be reduced to your preferences.
