Waldorf Salad - a sweet classic
Waldorf Salad is a simple, sweet and crunchy salad that I love. If you have a sweet tooth and want to eat more salads try a Waldorf salad. And as it features walnuts I label it heart healthy.
The Waldorf Salad was first made in the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in the late 19th century. The original recipe was just apple and celery in a mayonnaise dressing. A simple combination that just works. Grapes and walnuts were added later. Many have added their own touches, like raisins or dried cranberries. There’s even a version of the Waldorf salad in lime jelly. That’s a bridge too far for me.
I now mix natural Greek yoghurt into the dressing and it works great. Particularly when with a spoon of honey stirred into the yoghurt. And if you choose a high protein low fat natural yoghurt this is an easy and sweetly savoury way of having a high protein meal. But I still do make this with a mayonnaise dressing - which is basically the same as below without the yoghurt. That is really good too. And you can leave out the mayonnaise entirely too. Each way tastes different but they are all good. So play around with different dressings to find what works best for you.
One quick last thing to note, it doesn’t matter if you use green or red apples or grapes, what really matters is that they are good and sweet. This is where the honey comes in. Because if you discover that they aren’t quite as sweet as you’d like, then add a touch more honey into the dressing.
Waldorf Salad
Yield: Serves 2-4
Suitable for: Gluten-free diet
Ingredients:
- 1 head of celery, sliced
- 2 large sweet crisp apple, cored & sliced
- ~20 sweet seedless grapes, halved
- 60g walnuts
- 2 tbsp mayonnaise
- ½ cup natural Greek-style yoghurt
- 1 tbsp honey
- fresh lemon
- 1 tsp wholegrain or Dijon mustard
- salt & freshly ground black pepper
Instructions:
- Put the sliced celery, apples and grapes into a salad bowl. Squeeze over a little fresh lemon juice. Mix the mustard, honey, mayonnaise and yoghurt together with a good squeeze of lemon and a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir half the dressing into the salad bowl and mix everything together well. Taste and see if you need to add a little more honey. When you are happy with the taste add in the rest of the dressing and the walnuts and mix it all together well. Sprinkle over another pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper.
Enjoy!
