| 1 firm, crisp & tart green apple (e.g., Granny Smith) 1 firm ripe crisp sweet red apple (e.g., MacIntosh) 1 cup of sliced celery ½ cup of mayonnaise |
And that's all there is to the original recipes - just three ingredients. |
| ½ cup of raisins or 1 cup of grapes - green, seedless ½ cup of coarsely chopped walnuts 1 tbsp of lemon juice Iceberg or Bibb lettuce leaves |
Over the years, two ingredients have been added that have become standards: walnuts, and grapes or raisins. |
If using raisins, soak in water a while to plump them up (also they will then not absorb liquid from the dressing and dry it out). For best flavour from the walnuts they should be baked in a the oven on low heat for 10-15 minutes, then set aside to cool.
Core and quarter the apples leaving the skin on (unless it is tough). Cut apples into approximately ½ inch cubes and toss in the lemon juice. Cut the celery into ½ inch pieces. If the grapes are very large cut them in half. Mix together all of the ingredients and chill in the refrigerator.
To Serve:
Serve on a bed of lettuce on a plate or just plain in a bowl. For best results use a home-made mayonnaise, but be sure, if you do, to eat all the salad the day the mayonnaise is made.
And here is Oscar Tschirky's mayonnaise recipe: "Place in an earthen bowl a couple of fresh egg-yolks and half a tspful of ground English mustard, half a pinch of salt, half a saltspoonful [a saltspoon equals approximately ¼ teaspoon] of red pepper, and stir well for about three minutes without stopping, then pour in, drop at a time, one and a half cupfuls of the best olive oil, and should it become too thick, add a little at a time, some good vinegar, stirring constantly."
Mayonnaise
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 cup light olive or vegetable oil
- ¼ tsp lemon juice
- pinch dry mustard
- salt & pepper
Beat egg yolk for a couple of minutes, add lemon juice, salt and mustard. Beat vigorously for another minute. Add a few drops of good oil and beat (do not use extra virgin olive oil - the mayonnaise will taste like olive oil rather than mayonnaise). Continue beating quickly and slowly drip oil into mixture. Once half the oil is incorporated, pour oil faster beating all the time. Add additional oil if mixture is too thin; if too thick, add lemon juice a drop or two at a time. When right consistency reached, add salt & pepper to taste. Makes about 1½ cups.
(If you are suspicious of raw egg yoke, do the above in a double boiler using streaming hot but not boiling water. Be sure to continuously beat eggs at all times. If egg curdles add a tsp of boiling water and beat in.)
