Waldorf salad: how to cook? Waldorf salad recipe

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

The Waldorf Astoria is a famous hotel located in Manhattan between 49th and 50th streets and Park Avenue. Only honored guests stay there, who literally plunge into the atmosphere of prestige and power, slowly sipping expensive drinks and admiring the masterpieces of decorative art that adorn the salons and foyers of this luxurious building.

In the meantime, the guests of the mentioned hotel enjoy extraordinary dishes prepared especially for them by the best chefs, they never cease to be amazed and surprised by the culinary excellence and the art of service. After all, it is behind the scenes (that is, in the kitchen) that a professional team does everything possible and impossible so that every moment of their stay in the hotel leaves an unforgettable impression on customers.

General information

Waldorf salad is an incredibly tasty, tender and light dish that wasfirst cooked in the named hotel (in 1896). It is worth noting that it is served to hotel guests to this day. Of course, since then the recipe has changed somewhat, but this salad has only become better and tastier.

Many housewives, having heard about such a culinary creation as the Waldorf salad, begin to doubt whether they can prepare an exquisite treat for the festive table on their own. After all, most people believe that if it was served in an expensive American hotel, then it contains outlandish ingredients that are quite difficult to find in Russian stores, and even at an affordable price. But this is an erroneous opinion, since Waldorf (chicken salad) is an easy-to-prepare dish that requires the use of inexpensive and readily available ingredients. And so that you can see for yourself, we decided to present to your attention a step-by-step method of creating it.

American Waldorf salad recipe

To make such a tender, tasty and light dish, we need to purchase a small amount of the following products:

• large sweet and sour apple - 1 piece;
• celery (it is advisable to purchase only the stalks) - 2 pcs.;



• chicken fillet frozen or chilled - 300 g;
• freshly squeezed lemon juice - add to taste (about 2 dessert spoons);
• peeled walnuts - medium handful;
• pine nuts - a small handful;
• dried cranberries - for decorationready meal;
• leaves of lettuce or Korean cabbage - to decorate the finished dish;
• small s alt and ground allspice - add at your own discretion;
• red grapes are not very large - 90 g (can be replaced with black seedless raisins);
• high-fat mayonnaise or thick sour cream - add to taste (so that the dish is not too dry).

Meat product processing

Waldorf salad was originally prepared in the famous American hotel without the addition of a meat ingredient. But after some time, the chef of the hotel of the same name considered that such a dish was too light for the guests. To make it more satisfying, but still tender, the culinary masters decided to add dietary and he althy white poultry meat. And in this they were not mistaken. After all, such a component really makes the Waldorf salad more nutritious, but no less tasty.

To prepare the chicken fillet, wash it thoroughly, and then put it in a s alty boiling liquid, remove the resulting foam with a slotted spoon, close the lid tightly and cook for 35-45 minutes until fully cooked. After the specified time, the meat product must be taken out, cooled in cold air, and then the skin and bones are removed and the fillet is cut into small pieces. If desired, the meat can be divided along the fibers.

Preparing nuts

As a rule, Waldorf salad includes only walnuts. But for greater benefit and unusual tastewe decided to use cedar cone kernels as well. Both named ingredients should be washed well, and then put in a pan and fry a little. Next, it is recommended to crush the nuts into large crumbs, using a mortar or a regular rolling pin for this.

Processing vegetables and fruits

In addition to poultry meat and roasted nuts, the Waldorf salad, the recipe of which we are considering, includes such important ingredients as celery stalks and sweet and sour apple. The mentioned products should be washed well, and then be sure to peel. Next, the ingredients must be chopped into thin and small pieces.

To give the salad an unusual taste and appearance, it is also recommended to add fresh red grapes (preferably pitted), which should be washed thoroughly, dried slightly, and then cut each berry in half. If you could not purchase such a product, then large black raisins are quite suitable instead. But before adding dried fruit to the dish, it needs to be sorted out, scalded with boiling water and kept in it for about half an hour. After the lapse of time, the raisins must be rinsed in a sieve and allowed to dry.

Dish forming process

As you can see, Waldorf salad does not include overseas and expensive products. Therefore, not only the best chefs in America can cook it, but also ordinary housewives who have absolutely no culinary skills.

After all the ingredients for the dish are prepared,you can start building it right away. To do this, you need to take a large enameled bowl and put the following products in it: chopped celery stalks, sweet and sour apple, boiled chicken breasts, chopped grapes, roasted walnuts and pine nuts. Next, all the components must be mixed, flavored with freshly squeezed lemon juice, ground allspice and high-calorie mayonnaise (you can use sour cream and even yogurt). After that, the finished salad should be placed in the refrigerator and kept in it for no more than 20 minutes. After this time, the dish must be laid out on a large flat plate, which is recommended to be lined with leaves of Korean cabbage or green salad in advance.

How to serve the festive table?

Ready and shaped Waldorf salad (the recipe was described in detail above) should be served to guests on a common dish before serving the main hot lunch. By the way, for a richer taste and presentable appearance, it is recommended to sprinkle such a culinary masterpiece with dried cranberries or barberries. Once you try this unusual and very tasty dish, you will make it again and again. Indeed, in terms of taste and ease of preparation, such a salad is many times superior to other culinary creations.

Helpful advice

In the process of cooking, do not be afraid to fantasize. After all, many famous dishes became much tastier and more satisfying precisely because the chefs tried to improve them in every possible way. As for the presented salad,then very often housewives do not limit themselves to such basic ingredients as chicken fillet, nuts and celery, adding new components. So, a similar dish using canned pineapples is very tasty and juicy. Perhaps someone will try to add a pickled peach or a fresh orange … Believe me, no one can refuse such an unusual salad.