Naked Cranberry Waldorf Salad

[minoanmiss]

I made this as my contribution to Thanksgiving dinner this year.

I like the idea of Waldorf salad. A fruity, slightly sweet, fresh counterpoint to the longer-cooked dishes; both turkey and ham, common Thanksgiving centerpieces, work well with sweet accompaniments. But I don't always like the reality. Having mayonnaise be the first thing to hit the tongue gets cloying, and that's if the diner even likes mayonnaise -- many people don't. Walnuts can be bitter and allergenic. And so on.

So I made a few changes.

2 crisp apples, unpeeled, cut into 1 inch dice
1 cup celery, cut into 1/2 inch dice
1 starfruit, kiwifruit, or jicama, or other juicy culinary* fruit, cut into 1 inch dice [cut the jicama into 1/2 inch dice and only use 1 cup of it]
2 clementines/mandarins, unpeeled**, cut into 1/2 inch dice
1 cup dried cranberries, sweetened or unsweetened as you prefer
1/2 cup hemp seeds, shells removed (do not purchase hemp seeds with shells still on, those are for feeding cockatiels)
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp grated ginger (or more if desired)
1/2 tsp grated lemon zest and 1 tbsp lemon juice from one lemon
1 cup sour cream, optional, plus 2 tbsp honey if using

Having cut up all the fruit & celery, toss all ingredients together in a large bowl, cover and refrigerate until serving.

*: I know a jicama is not a botanical fruit. But it is a culinary one.
** If you have to substitute an orange, zest the whole thing, peel it, and omit the lemon zest. Use the orange zest and flesh in the recipe. Clementines, mandarins, etc, have thin skins with no bitter white pith (albedo) so they can be chopped whole. Oranges' skin is too thick to be used that way, IMO, anyway.

Comments

[cellio]

Ooh, this sounds nice!

(I did not know that you could chop up clementines/mandarins, peels and all.)

[minoanmiss]

IIRC, Most easy to peel citrus types got that way by being bred to minimize the albedo (the bitter white layer, which attaches the zest to the fruit flesh), and the albedo and seeds are the main parts of the citrus to avoid eating. So something without either, like clementines, can be eaten whole or chopped up whole.

(I love clementines. I eat them whole, peel and all.) (Because of someone Awesome whom I am fortunate to know I am looking forward to probably getting a box of Satsumas this winter. Woot Woot!)

[cellio]

Woot! :-)

[hammercock]

That sounds like something I would actually eat. :) (I'm one of those people who believes that mayo turns food into !food.)

[minoanmiss]

Well good!

You, WD, and RK are all in agreement on mayonnaise, ahahaha.

[full_metal_ox]

I’m white, too—but I prefer it in sandwiches and savory dishes.

[pameladean]

I love mayonnaise, but this sounds really lovely, and more suitable as a side for the heavy dishes of Thanksgiving. It sounds so refreshing.

P.

[minoanmiss]

It was pretty refreshing. I was pleased. :)

You can always put the mayo back in! (Just remove the sour cream so the salad's not overdressed)

[cmcmck]

Thanks for a non mayonnaise recipe- it's a classic trigger for my egg allergy!

This sounds really good.

[minoanmiss]

beams I hope you make this and like it. I enjoy figuring out substitutions -- it's like a game we can all win!

[magid]

First thought on reading: if jicama works, I wonder whether kohlrabi would, too, since they have similar types of crunchy.

[minoanmiss]

I think kohlrabi would clash with the fruit. Melon would probably work but it wouldn't store well.

[full_metal_ox]

Jicama reminds me of a cross between water chestnut (albeit larger and more fibrous) and Asian pear, which might suggest substitutions.

[minoanmiss]

OH you're RIGHT! Asian pear would be perfect! (I like jicama -- it's like water chestnut but a bit sweeter, yes -- and so do the people of China, who are apparently growing it in enthusiastically increasing acreage).

[minoanmiss]

full_metal_ox suggested Asian pear, which would be perfect. I must get one and make this dish again! om nom nom!

[princessofgeeks]

Sounds wonderful! I love Waldorf salad in any form and will remember these variations!

[minoanmiss]

takes notes

[full_metal_ox]

I personally would eat the hell out of your Waldorf salad, and thank you for serving the sour cream dressing on the side, since I don’t think I’d use it.

*: I know a jicama is not a botanical fruit. But it is a culinary one.

Like rhubarb?

[minoanmiss]

Heh, I called it "Naked" because I didn't end up using the dressing either.

Non-botanical culinary fruits sound off! Rhubarb, jicama, sugarcane ... what else? I should make that a journal entry as well.

[full_metal_ox]

And then you’ve got botanical fruits that are treated as culinary vegetables; eggplants, peppers, olives, green beans, squashes, avocados, and cucumbers come to mind.

[minoanmiss]

oh yes, lots and lots of those. We are definitely fruit eating apes.

[full_metal_ox]

Okra! How did I forget okra?

command-F "tomato" not found

[jesse_the_k]

I vividly remember learning that "tomatoes are not vegetables" age six, which served as the start of my annoying pedant career.

Re: command-F "tomato" not found

[minoanmiss]

Oh dear GOD you or some child like you haunted my Cooking NIGHTMARES.

[hitchhiker]

I never thought of jicama as a fruit! I always figured it was like celery, something to add crunch to salads and crudites.

[minoanmiss]

It does, but because of its subtle sweetness it goes well with fruit. Add it to a fruit salad sometime for extra crunch.

[acelightning73]

Waldorf Salad would serve the same function as cranberry sauce and the weird homemade pickles and relishes people set out for holiday feasts. And the cornmeals rolls I made had a faintly sweet undertone, because of the natural sweetness of the cornmeal. And the basting liquid caramelized a little because it included maple syrup.

You could probably swap kumquats for the clementines.

[full_metal_ox]

Kumquats are supposed to be eaten whole, and have the peculiarity that the sweetness resides in the peel and the tartness in the pulp and juice.

Another use I’ve devised for kumquats: grate them (discarding any seeds) into red miso for a bright, salty, tangy, and umami-rich marinade/barbecue sauce; I’ve found it effective on pork, chicken, firm tofu, and eggplant. (Probably not on the short list of things you (acelightning73) personally would care for, though.)

[minoanmiss]

Obviously I'll let her say more but actually acelightning73 really loves and loves learning about East Asian foodways.

[acelightning73]

Thank you for being so polite, dear friend! I've been teaching myself how to cook things that taste good to me since I was knee-high to a kitchen chair. (I"ve been a very picky eater all my life, and it turned out that I had sensitivities/"allerfies" to the things that tasted the most digusting to me. So there are no scallions or garlic in my stir-fry, no shredded coconut on my pavlova, and no raisins in my cinnamon buns.)

[acelightning73]

I've seen recipes for kumquat pie and pickled and candied whole. But they seem to be a good way of adding a touch of fruitiness to a composed dish. If I can ever get some, I'll try using them as texture/taste contrast in my stir-fried chicken in orange juice.

[full_metal_ox]

My experience is that ginger—either fresh or candied—works in there too.