Waldorf Salad with Pine Nuts and Cilantro
Oscar Tschirky, known as “Oscar from Waldorf”, the maître d’ of the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York created the original recipe for the Waldorf Salad. For the first time the salad was served in March of 1893 at a banquet for 1,500 persons of high society celebrating the opening of the Waldorf Hotel. Originally the salad consisted only of apples and celery taken in equal proportions and dressed in mayonnaise. In about ten years walnuts and grapes were added to the recipe. This salad gained a worldwide popularity and is being served in many restaurants in Europe and America. On the US East Coast, the Waldorf salad has become an essential dish for the Thanksgiving dinner.
One of the characters in a popular British TV show in the 1970s Fawlty Towers gives a short and simple recipe for the Waldorf salad: celery-apples-walnuts-grapes-in-mayonnaise.
The recipe from my Culinary Collection keeps all main ingredients but differs from the classic version.
See for yourself:
INGREDIENTS:
= 2 Table spoons finely chopped cilantro leaves
= Freshly squeezed lemon juice from one lemon
= Salt and freshly ground black pepper
= 2 sweet and juicy apples such as Honey Crisp or Gala – cored and cut on small triangles; don’t peel the skin
= 2 cups of black or red seedless grapes – cut in half
= 2 cups celery stalks – finely sliced
= ½ cup of pine nuts (about 100 g) – slightly fried
= 1 Napa Cabbage or Romaine Lettuce – cut away large white parts, keep green parts only and finely slice – about 2 cups.
COOKING:
Heat a small frying pan and toast the pine nuts over medium-high heat until brown – about 2-3 minutes.
Wash and dry vegetables and fruits before slicing them.
1. Celery stalks – slice in fine half-moons – about 2 cups.
2. Apples –core and quarter them; do not peel off the skin. Cut every quarter in three long pieces and then cut each piece in triangles.
3. Lemon – cut the lemon in two halves; put the cut apples in a bowl and squeeze lemon juice from each of the lemon halves on the top of them. Make sure there are no lemon seeds left with the apples. Mix the apples with lemon juice to prevent them turning dark and set aside.
4. Grapes – I prefer black grapes because they look nicer in the salad but you can take red or any other seedless grapes. Cut the grapes in half lengthwise – about 2 cups.
5. Napa cabbage – take apart the entire cabbage head and carefully wash and dry every single leaf. After that, with a sharp knife cut out white parts from every leaf, to keep green parts only. Discard the white parts. Slice the green parts finely – about 2 cups.
6. Cilantro – wash and dry and then finely chop – 2-3 table spoons.
7. Mix all ingredients in a big bowl except the pine nuts. When you add apples also pour the lemon juice.
8. Add toasted pine nuts and mix well.
9. Dress the salad with the Ranch dressing. Mix. Taste the salad and add carefully salt and pepper – make sure you don’t put too much of either of them.
10. Your salad is ready. Put it in a big serving bowl.
11. If you don’t serve your salad right away, cover it and keep it refrigerated. Before serving add pine nuts and mix the salad.