Russian salad

Method

1. Boil the potatoes and carrots whole and unpeeled in salted water until a knife meets slight resistance, about 20 minutes for the carrots and 25 for the potatoes. Undercooked is better than soft, because the cubes have to hold their shape.
2. Hard-boil the eggs for nine minutes and cool them under cold water. Cook the peas for four or five minutes and drain them.
3. Peel the potatoes and carrots while they are still warm, then leave everything to go completely cold. Warm vegetables thin the mayonnaise and the salad never firms up afterwards.
4. Cut the potatoes, carrots, eggs, ham, kashkaval and gherkins into cubes of about half a centimetre. The salad is judged on how even those cubes are.
5. Stir the mayonnaise, soured cream and mustard together in a small bowl. Season with pepper and go carefully with the salt, because the ham, the cheese and the gherkins all bring their own.
6. Fold the dressing through with a spatula rather than beating it in, so the potato stays in pieces, and add the peas last.
7. Smooth the top, spread a thin film of mayonnaise over it so the surface does not dry out, and chill for at least two hours before serving.