Our supper today has two hotel inspirations – Waldorf Salad from New York in the 1890s and Jogger’s Salad from Cardiff in the 1980s!
When Emily was little she used to sometimes go for lunch with Bibi at a hotel in Cardiff called The Inn on the Avenue. The hotel was quite stylish for the time (in a Seventies/Eighties way that would probably make it very chic today!), and a bit of a Cardiff social hub in the late 70s and early 80s. So going there was always a treat.
Emily nearly always had the same thing for lunch there – a dish called “Jogger’s Salad”. She can’t now quite remember everything that was in it, but its crowning glory was definitely an enormous scoop of cottage cheese, topped with a slice of pineapple! As Emily has always loved cottage cheese, this was a very good thing.
Emily & Estella still love cottage cheese today. So does Jake the dog – we often give him a pot with a little bit of cottage cheese left in it. He absolutely loves licking it clean, then chewing the pot. Here he is with it as a puppy; recently guarding his chewed pot; and proudly running off with it today!
So when looking for a healthy light supper one day, Emily decided to update the “Jogger’s Salad” – keeping the cottage cheese and fruit inspiration, but swapping the pineapple for a classic Waldorf salad. We now make it quite often.
A Waldorf salad is lovely in its own right, crunchy & fresh with a nice balance of sweet and savoury. Invented in the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York in the 1890s, it is now a standard among salads. It pairs well with the cottage cheese in today’s dish, but is also great with cold meats – we often serve it with some roast chicken. Or it makes a good starter, or healthy light lunch. Its key ingredients are grapes, celery, apple and walnuts, in a dressing that can be yoghurt or mayonnaise based. We prefer Greek yoghurt as it makes the salad lighter and fresher. Today we used a 0% fat version.
We sometimes serve the Waldorf salad on a bed of lettuce or baby leaves, but today we served it very simply with the cottage cheese and some seeded oatcakes to create our Jogger’s Salad.
The Waldorf salad is very simple and quick to make – it just requires some chopping, and the seasoning of the yoghurt dressing. You don’t need many walnuts – we use the slightly more expensive king walnuts, as they are sweeter and less bitter, but to keep cost down we only use a very small pack (90g), which is plenty in a salad for four people. Cheaper walnuts will work fine, but do taste them. If they are at the bitter end, use even fewer.
Jake sticks his nose in
You can replace the walnuts with milder pecans if you prefer, though the salad is meant to have a little bitterness from the walnuts to balance the sweetness of the grapes. Pecans also tend to be more expensive than standard walnuts, though cheaper than king ones, so shop around for the best value.
Before you start assembling the salad, heat your oven to about 170C (150C fan). Arrange the walnuts in a single layer on a baking tray lined with a little baking paper or foil. Toast them in the oven, taking care they don’t burn. You want the nuts just golden, about 5 to 8 minutes, but do check them – if you can smell the nuts, they are probably ready, or close to! Give them a stir once or twice while toasting. Allow them to cool before using.
Jake sticks his nose in
You can use the walnuts straight from the packet if you are short on time. But toasting them intensifies & sweetens the flavour, and gives them a nice crunchy texture too.
Also zest and juice a lemon and cut the zest smaller. See our lemon Tip. You’ll need both zest & juice for the dressing, but you also need the juice on hand for when you cut the apple, as it will stop it from discolouring.
Jake sticks his nose in
Remember that for zesting, you need to use unwaxed lemons.
Now chop the salad ingredients, leaving the apple until last. Top & tail the celery, removing any dirt. Three or four stalks is enough in a salad for four people. Cut into batons, then chop into bite-sized pieces. Add to your serving bowl.
Now cut the grapes. We think seedless red grapes are nicest in this dish, both for flavour and colour, but any grapes will work. You can keep them whole if very small, but most work better in the dish if cut in half. (Remove any seeds if your grapes have them). Add to the bowl with the celery. Today we used just over half a 500g pack.
Now make the dressing. We use 0% Greek yoghurt to make this healthy supper even lighter, but any thick yoghurt will work. We tend not to use mayonnaise, as we find it overpowers the delicacy of this salad, but you could if you prefer, or use a mixture or yoghurt and mayonnaise. Use one small (150g) pot for a four-person salad. Put the yoghurt in a bowl and stir to thin it down slightly, then season with salt & black pepper.
Now add the lemon zest and a little of the juice (keeping some for the apple). Stir well and taste, adjusting the seasoning and lemon as needed. Today we added a few drops of red Tabasco, but this is optional.
Now core & chop the apple. A sweet red apple is nicest in this dish. Today we used most of two small ones (two apples when sliced was a bit too much, so we ate a few slices!). We use an apple corer, but if you don’t have one, just cut the apple into quarters, and remove the core with a knife.
Once the apple is cut, it will begin to discolour fairly quickly, so you need to work fast. Halve the apple, then cut into slices before chopping into bite-sized pieces. Quickly add these to the bowl with the celery & grapes, then add a little lemon juice, stirring to really coat the apple in the juice. The juice will stop the apple from turning brown.
Jake sticks his nose in
Today our apples were the Jazz variety, a sweet red apple with just a little tartness. But we tend to buy whichever sweet red apple is on offer or in season. Other good sweet varieties to look out for are Fuji (very sweet), Gala (sweet), Pink Lady (tart-sweet) & Red Delicious (mild). Or in season British apples like Reubens, Braeburn, Cox, Discovery and Smitten, which are all lovely, complex, sweet-tart apples.
The Waldorf salad is now ready to dress.
Add the yogurt dressing to the salad, and mix well to combine. Break the cooled walnuts into pieces – you want them bite-sized, we generally break each half in two. Fold through the salad. You are ready to serve!
Jake sticks his nose in
You can keep the dressed Waldorf salad in the fridge until you are ready, but it’s best to add the walnuts just before serving so they stay nice & crunchy.
Today we served our “Jogger’s Salad” very simply with the cottage cheese on the side and some seeded oatcakes
We hope you enjoy your Waldorf Jogger’s Salad and our taste of the 1980s – and 1890s!
