• 1 cup (225g) of diced celery
• 1 cup (120g) of diced cored, peeled red apples
• 1/2 cup (62g) coarsely chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup (175g) of seedless red grapes, halved
• 1/2 cup (60g) of miniature marshmallows
• 1/4 cup (60g) of mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup (140g) of plain Greek yogurt

Wash the ingredients well.  Peel, core, & chop the apples; halve the grapes; chop the celery & walnuts.  Add everything to a mixing bowl.  To prevent browning, toss the fruit with a lightly acidic solution – water with some vinegar or lemon juice – or simply sprinkle with lemon juice.  Be sure to make it as close to serving time as possible!

Stir in the mayonnaise & plain Greek yogurt.  Serve chilled or at room temperature, but it’s best to keep in the refrigerator until serving time.

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As a kid, I could never decide whether I loved it or hated it!  The sweetness, the marshmallows, but the walnuts and the celery?  As an adult, I absolutely love it, and I withstood from making it a family tradition in my own home because of the extreme aversion to celery on behalf of my husband.  But this Christmas, I prepared a small portion as a gift to myself, and I was delighted with having this traditional holiday salad again.

The salad was first created around the end of the 1800s at the Waldorf Hotel in New York City (now the Waldorf-Astoria).  There, many of the signature dishes were developed or inspired by the restaurant chief at the time, Oscar Tschirky, widely known as “Oscar of the Waldorf” who published his own cookbook.  A classic American holiday dish, this simple fruit salad makes a lovely addition to the festivities by adding a certain freshness & crunch that I absolutely love!