Gingered Waldorf Salad

For the food-obsessed, like me, planning a menu for a holiday fête can take weeks of research and recipe testing. While Thanksgiving is often made up of standard classics to pair with turkey, for me Christmas is an opportunity to experiment, building menus centered on different meaty mains. Over the years, my holiday repertoire has developed a rotation of favorites from Julia's bœuf bourguignon, or herb-crusted rib roast, to stone fruit stuffed pork loin and classic glazed ham. Once the main dish is picked the real fun starts, choosing complementary side dishes and a list of wine pairings. While the menus change from year to year, one dish seems to always make it on our winter holiday table, my Waldorf salad. With festive pops of red and green, this colorful salad is as pretty to look at as it is delicious. Enlivened with lemon and fresh ginger, this makes a vibrant palate cleanser to even the richest of savory center pieces.

Ingredients:

For the dressing:

½ cup sour cream

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

Zest of one lemon, finely grated

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated

Salt and black pepper to taste

For the salad:

2 crisp apples, such as Fuji or Honeycrisp

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

4 stalks celery, thinly sliced (about 1 cup)

1/3 cup dried cranberries

1/3 cup walnuts, chopped and toasted

4 oz aged white cheddar

1 bunch flat leaf parsley, stemmed

Directions:

In small bowl whisk together sour cream, mayonnaise, lemon zest, ginger, and 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and fresh ground black pepper. Set aside. Can be done several hours ahead of time, keep covered and chilled until ready to serve.

Core apples and slice into 12 to 16 thin wedges. Slice each wedge in half cross wise and toss in large mixing bowl with the 2 teaspoons of lemon juice. Toss in celery, cranberries, and walnuts.

Chop cheddar into small bite sized cubes and add to the bowl with apples and celery. Remove all stems from the parsley and divide into two piles. Coarsely chop one half of the parsley and toss into the salad. Leave the other half as whole leaves and add them to the salad as well, reserving a few to use as garnish.

Shortly before serving, pour in the dressing and toss to coat. Taste and add more salt if needed. Garnish top with parsley leaves and a fresh crack of black pepper.

Notes:

Use the best quality firm and sweet crisp apples you can find. Honeycrisp, fuji, or pink lady are all lovely choices. Do NOT peel the apples, as their rosy color adds to the beauty of this salad.

If you can't find dried cranberries, raisins can be substituted. However the ruby color, and tart sweetness of the cranberries is very much preferred.

A quality stainless steel microplane is a fabulous kitchen gadget to add to your tool drawer. They are great for getting the fine gratings of citrus zest and ginger for this recipe. Also wonderful for grating garlic cloves, hard cheeses, and spices. I use mine almost daily.

For a variation on this salad, try using a firm crumbly blue cheese such as Roquefort or Stilton, instead of the cheddar.

In years past I have also added some chicory leaves, such as curly frisée, Belgian endive, or radicchio, for a bright and bitter counter to the sweet components of this dish. You could also try serving this salad on crisp romaine leaves for an elegant presentation.

Wishing my readers a safe and lovely holiday season. I hope this salad becomes a new favorite to share with your loved ones. Enjoy.