Waldorf Salad

I was sent some South African apples, crisp sweet Braemars, and they were too damn good to cook. So I went classic...this is an old recipe, created in the last days of the 19th century in the big hotel kitchen of the Waldorf hotel. The vegetarian version of this salad often contains grapes, I decided to pickle them. This salad can be served as a starter, as a side or as an accompaniment to a cheese course.

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Apple recipes, Classic salads, Waldorf salad

Servings: 4

Ingredients

For the Pickled grapes (optional)

150 ml white wine vinegar
2 tbsp of sugar
3 tbsp of salt
250 ml water
250 g of grapes washed, de-stemmed

For the salad:

1 baby gem lettuce leaves separated, washed and dried
2 Braemar apples halved and sliced thinly into half moons
2 sticks of celery thinly sliced
75 g of walnut
3 large pickled walnuts thinly sliced

For the Dressing:

1 egg
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic minced
1 anchovy minced finely
125 ml of walnut oil or a mix of walnut and groundnut oil
3 tbsps Apple cider vinegar
40 g Parmesan
Twist White Pepper

Instructions

To pickle the grapes, use white seedless. I used 'sultana' grapes from my local shop Where2Save. In a small saucepan, on a low heat, dissolve the sugar and salt in the white wine vinegar and water. Using a sterile jar, place the grapes, then pour over the vinegar mixture. Seal and leave for a for days before using. A good cupboard staple.

To assemble the salad:

Place the leaves at the bottom of the bowl, then add the slices of apple and the crescents of celery. Sprinkle over the walnuts, then dress the salad.

For the dressing:

The dressing is based on another classic American salad, the Caesar salad dressing. Coddle the egg by cooking it in boiling water for just one minute. Crack it into a bowl, add the mustard, garlic and anchovy, whisk until smooth. Add the oil very slowly, whisking by hand or in a blender, so that it emulsifies. Finally add the vinegar and the parmesan cheese. Add the pepper.
Finally add the pickled walnuts and pickled grapes.