this salad is a contender for any food contest where the goal is to make a dish with the highest amount of deliciousness with the least amount of time and effort. it is soo good, yet so simple and quick to make. that is probably the reason my mother made it so often when i was growing up- we were six kids so she understandably opted for simple quick meals whenever possible. this recipe here is close to hers yet with a few changes. she used raisins, i use fresh grapes she used walnuts, i use pecans. also my wife and i were in the middle eastern food shop the other day and found a kind of yogurt we had never seen before. it is exceptionally creamy and quite salty, like half way between a cream cheese and yogurt. i used was eager to try this new yogurt so where my mother used mayonnaise, i mixed this yogurt 50/50 with mayo.
here are the ingredients
1 large tart apple
2 stalks celery
pecans
grapes
mayonnaise
special yogurt
a wedge of lemon
coarsely chop the pecans and dry roast them lightly in a iron skillet
cut the grapes in half
chop the celery
peel the apple if desired. core and chop it. drip with some lemon juice
mix the mayo and yogurt and a little lemon juice
see the photo for rough measures and proportions
mix everything together in a bowl and the deed is done. enjoy!
among all the recipes presented here on hive, this must be among the easiest you could make yourself, so if you have never tried it, why not give it a go? now i didn't make this like my mother used to and you don't need to make it like i did. maybe you would prefer with some whipped cream or with some dates or cranberries or sunflower seeds or something fashionable and high class gourmet, whatever you feel like. it will still be a waldorf salad.
if you are interested in the history of this famous and popular salad check out this link
https://food52.com/blog/13272-the-story-behind-the-most-popular-salad-in-new-york
years ago when i was a young teenager my mother took me to new york. we left my father and all my siblings behind. i forget the reason why we were there but i do remember staying at the iconic waldorf astoria in midtown manhattan. of course we had a waldorf salad. i don't remember what was in it, only that it was different than but not any better than her standard recipe.