A few years ago, I had a Waldorf salad at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York. It was memorable. No lettuce at all, just a pretty little stack of sliced apples, grapes, walnuts, and dressing, topped with microgreens.

My adaptation adds lettuce and some protein for a balanced, flavorful, colorful starter or even a meal for the family. The lettuce is finely sliced, as in a chopped salad. The apples and celery are diced into matchsticks. Grapes and walnuts are roasted a little, for more flavor. For four big servings, here goes!

Ingredients:

• 1 head romaine lettuce
• 1 cup red grapes
• 1 cup walnut halves
• 1/2 cup whole milk Greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 tablespoon honey (pasteurized, not raw)
• generous pinch of salt and pepper
• 1 crisp apple – Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Pink lady, McIntosh, etc.
• 2 stalks celery
• protein – 4 soft or hard boiled eggs, some rotisserie chicken pieces, or roasted salmon slices

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Wash and dry the lettuce and slice it very thinly. Use a mandolin if you have one. Otherwise, slice the lettuce lengthwise a couple of times, then slowly slice crosswise into 1/8 inch slices with a sharp knife. Place in a large salad bowl.
3. Slice the grapes in half lengthwise and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle the walnut halves over this. Spread into a single layer. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
4. While the grapes and walnuts are getting delicious, prepare the dressing in a medium bowl – stir together the yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice, honey, salt, and pepper.
5. Core the apple (don’t peel) and slice it thinly into small batons or matchsticks. Slice the celery thinly. You can use your mandolin if you have it.
6. Now put the apple, celery, grapes, and walnuts into the dressing and toss to combine.
7. Spoon this over the lettuce, place protein on top, and there you have it! A little crunchy, a little sweet, a little roasted, a lot tasty!! Drizzle with extra vinaigrette from the store if you like.

Enjoy! Please let me know if you have any questions. What are some other dishes you’d like to see me prepare?