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Waldorf Salad

Introduction & method

This salad was invented in 1893 by the Maitre D' at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. And then made beloved to us Brits by John Cleese in Fawlty Towers - the chaos created by an American guest asking for a simple Waldorf Salad is a true gem. As is the salad itself - it couldn't be easier to make, and it's really fresh and tasty.

Waldorf Salad Recipe

Prep


Wash your lettuce, apples, grapes and celery. Cut the grapes in half. Core and thinly slice the apples - keep the skin on. and squirt with lemon juice once you've cut them to stop them going brown. Thinly slice the celery. Heat a dry frying pan and add the walnuts - let them toast for a couple of minutes, swizzing them round now and again so they don't burn. Remove from heat and set aside.

Assemble the Waldorf Salad


Make the dressing by mixing together the mayonnaise, yoghurt and salt. In a mixing bowl, mix together the apples, celery, grapes and walnuts - save a few grapes and walnuts for decoration. Spoon the dressing over the salad and stir well. You may or may not use all of it - you just need enough to coat everything, but you don't want a lake of dressing at the bottom. Now, take a serving/presentation bowl (this is a fancy-schmancy 5-star hotel salad, remember!). Remove any scraggy outer leaves from your lettuce, we're not using them. Peel off 4-5 inner leaves, give them a good rinse and arrange them vertically around the side of the bowl - they probably won't go all the way round, this is just to give a bit of height to the background. Pile the dressed salad into the bowl. Shred the heart of the lettuce and place it in the centre of the salad. Top with the reserved grapes and nuts.  Serve on its own or with some grilled chicken breast or fish.



The video above is from the Keef Cooks YouTube channel. Click here to see the video recipe of Waldorf Salad on YouTube.

 
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Ingredients & Info


SALAD
 1 granny smith apple
 1 sweet red apple
 1 small handful red grapes
 1 small handful walnuts
 1 little gem lettuce
 1 stick celery
DRESSING
 3 tbsp mayonnaise
 3 tbsp plain yoghurt
 half a tsp salt

PLUS

A squirt of lemon juice.


UNITS:
Metric
US Customary/Imperial

Serves 4 
Prep time: 5 minutes.
Cooking time: 2-3 minutes.
Total time: 7-8 minutes.