In the list of the classic salads, the Waldorf salad is also an omiskbenbare topper. The perhaps slightly more unusual ingredients, such as fruit and blue cheese, make the salad an extraordinary and perhaps a little more exquisite raw food dish. As is often the case, this salad is quite simple to make, provided you have sufficient knowledge. This salad is also not very seasonal: it does not look out of place on the menu during the autumn, nor in the summer. Worth to try!
History
The prestigious Waldorf-Astoria Hotel has been on display in New York for over a century. In its history, the hotel has been housed in two different historic buildings. Since 1931, it has been located in the heart of Manhattan at 301 Park Avenue. It has no fewer than 47 floors and is a beautiful piece of art deco designed by the architect duo Schultze and Weaver. It is known for its unseen luxury and opulence.
In 1893, a dish was devised by the then maître d’hôtel, Oscar Tschirky, whose creativity influenced or created many dishes. The dish appeared in the historic and controversial cookbook called “Oscar of the Waldorf” in 1896. The original recipe did not contain walnuts, but they have now become a regular part of the salad. As is so often the case, a number of additional ingredients are possible for numerous variations on the well-known recipe for this salad, below a personal approach.
Recipe
Ingredients (for 2 persons)
- 1/2 lettuce
- 1 apple
- 5 peeled walnuts
- celeriac and white celery
- mayonnaise
- olive oil
- fresh green herbs (chives, cress, parsley, …)
- lemon juice
- blue cheese (roquefort, Danish blue or gorgonzola)
Preparation method
- Wash the lettuce and green herbs.
- Dry the salad.
- Emboss (fold and chop) the salad and mix the roughly chopped garden herbs into the salad in a large bowl.
- Keep some cress or parsley aside for garnish.
- Peel the celeriac and white celery (so that there are no membranes around the stems, which are unpleasant to eat).
- Use a mandolin or food processor to finely grate the celeriac and mix into the salad.
- Cut the celery into fine cubes or fine cubes and mix with the salad.
- Wash the apples, there is no need to peel from the apples and cut the apples into a nice julienne (matches), drizzle with half the lemon juice (against discoloration).
- Mix the apples into the salad.
- Put 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise in a bowl and add the rest of the juice and salt and pepper.
- Beat the mayonnaise a little and dilute with a dash of olive oil.
- Then pour the vinaigrette over the salad and mix.
- Take a deep plate and place a mountain of the salad mixture on it.
- Then crumble the blue cheese and pieces over and around the salad in the plate.
- Crush the walnuts into smaller pieces and also sprinkle over the salad.
- Top it all off with some green herbs that have been set aside.
Variations
The version mentioned above is and is mainly used as a side dish. The salad can of course also be served as a meal salad by adding a piece of meat or fish:
Chicken
- Put a grill pan on the fire.
- Cut 1 chicken fillet per person into long strips.
- Season the chicken strips with pepper, salt, thyme and a little paprika or curry powder (to taste).
- Drizzle the chicken strips with a little olive oil.
- Grill the chicken in the pan and place on and around the salad.
salmon
- Cut the salmon into cubes of 3 by 3 cm.
- Season them with salt, pepper, thyme and a little oregano (to taste).
- Fry the salmon cubes in a hot pan until golden brown with a little oil and some good butter.
- Garnish the salad with the salmon cubes.
The salad can be perfectly expanded with many other raw vegetables, grapes and cherries are also sometimes used in this salad. The walnuts can be omitted or replaced with other nuts or pine nuts.