Waldorf Chicken Salad

The very original Waldorf salad originated at the Waldorf hotel in New York, which is now known as the Waldorf Astoria, back in 1893. The original salad had apples, celery, and walnuts. So here is my variation on it. I prefer pecans over walnuts, added chicken and garlic. It can be served on a bed of greens, pictured, or in a sandwich, which is not pictured, but with extra mustard is pretty bomb.

Serves 5.

2 cups diced chicken from 1 chicken breast - leftover from a rotisserie chicken. no skin

2 cups apple - from 3 very small apples. I would recommend a firmer cooking apple - no delicious variety

1.5 cups celery - from 3 stalks

2 garlic cloves minced

3/4 cups pecans

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 lemon, juiced

salt and pepper

3 heaping tablespoons of mayo

if your pecans are raw, toast them in a pan on medium low, dry with no oil. This should only take a minute or two tops. remove them from heat and allow to cool.

Take out a large bowl. Dice all the ingredients and add them into the bowl as you are done cutting them up. The apple does not have to be peeled, I prefer the peel on since it adds a bit of color and flavor. I like to slice the apple into quarters, remove the core, cut them into 1/8ths, then dice them. The celery should be cut in half lengthwise then diced for smaller pieces. The chicken should be diced into small cubes and not shredded. The garlic should be finely minced. Run your knife through the pecans to cut them up and add that in the bowl. Mix them all together. add in the mustard and lemon juice. Mix well. the lemon juice should help prevent the apples from browning. if your apples are browning earlier than this, you can always juice the lemon earlier. Season with some salt and pepper. Add in the mayo. Mix well. Serve on a bed of greens with just a hint of dressing if you want (i used just a little bit of poppy seed dressing), or serve between two slices of bread for a sandwich.