Words and Images by: LYNN BAIN and ELLEN DEWAR

WALDORF SALAD

The story behind the creamy, tangy, fruity flavours of the Waldorf Salad is an old one. The Waldorf was invented in the 1890s by the maître d’hôtel of the Waldorf Astoria in New York. Apparently, nuts were not originally part of the recipe, but they were added sometime in the next three decades when the recipe was published for the second time in a cookbook.

PREPARATION TIME: 10 minutes

COOKING TIME: A couple of minutes for toasting the walnuts

INGREDIENTS

The following quantities will serve two:

• 4 tbsp mayonnaise 
• 1 tbsp lemon juice 
• Freshly ground salt and pepper, to taste 
• 1/2 cup toasted walnuts, chopped 
• 1/2 cup celery, thinly sliced 
• 1/2 cup seedless grapes 
• 1 red apple, cored and chopped 
• 1 green apple, cored and chopped 
• Shredded lettuce, for serving

METHOD

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise and lemon juice. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Gently mix the walnuts, celery, grapes, and apple with the mayo mixture. To serve, pile this fruity, nutty mixture on to a bed of shredded lettuce.

HANDY HINTS:

• You could substitute natural yoghurt for the mayonnaise in this salad
• Instead of serving on a bed of shredded lettuce, you could spoon the mixture into small lettuce leaf cups
• To toast the walnuts, place them in a dry frying pan over a medium heat. Toast the walnuts, shaking the pan frequently, until they smell fragrant. Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool before chopping 
• You could substitute grapes for dried fruit such as sultanas. If you do, you will only need a quarter of a cup instead of half a cup of fresh grapes

Caesar Salad

CAESAR SALAD

PREPARATION TIME: 15 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 1 clove garlic, roughly chopped 
• 1 slice bread, crusts removed 
• 2 bacon rashers, rind removed
• 1 baby cos lettuce
• 2 anchovies, chopped (optional)
• 50g parmesan cheese, thinly shaved

SALAD DRESSING

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tbsp sour cream
• Dash of worcestershire sauce

METHOD

In a small bowl, combine the roughly chopped garlic and tablespoon of olive oil. Allow the garlic and oil to stand for about 10 minutes. Strain the oil mixture to remove the garlic. This will give you garlic infused oil. Discard the garlic.

To make the croutons, brush the bread slice on both sides with the garlic oil. Cut the bread into small cubes. Heat a non-stick frypan over a medium heat. Add the croutons to the pan, shaking the frypan frequently, until they are golden-brown. Remove from the pan and drain on paper towel.

Cut the bacon into strips. Heat the pan in which you cooked the croutons to a medium heat and fry the bacon strips until crispy. Drain the crispy bacon on paper towel.

Pull the cos lettuce apart. Wash and dry the lettuce leaves thoroughly. Tear the lettuce into bite-sized pieces. In a salad bowl, combine the torn lettuce leaves, croutons, bacon, anchovies (optional), and some of the shaved parmesan. Reserve a little of the shaved parmesan to garnish.

Put the extra olive oil, lemon juice, sour cream, and worcestershire sauce in a screw top jar (or similar). Screw the top on the jar and shake vigorously until combined.

Drizzle the salad dressing over the lettuce mixture and then toss together gently. To serve, garnish the bowl of caesar salad with the remaining parmesan cheese.

HANDY HINTS:

• You could spoon small portions of the caesar salad into extra small cos lettuce leaves. Roll the leaves up and you have little caesar salad parcels
• Soak the whole anchovies in a little milk for a few minutes to minimise the saltiness of the fish. Remove the anchovies from the milk and then roughly chop them
• Add pieces of chicken, or swap chicken for the anchovy; chopped up hard-boiled egg is also a popular variation

Category: Cooking
Written: Mon 01 Jan 2018
Printed: January, 2018
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