No Mayo Waldorf Salad

In the sixties Waldorf Salad was a mayonnaise laden dish that hardly qualified as a salad. Of course a “fancy” salad like that was served with other mayo slathered dishes like a Egg salad and potato salad at luncheons. I have always wondered what elevated a midday meal from just a lunch to a luncheon. My grandparents sometimes had a big mid day meal, which was called dinner and then they would follow it up with a night time supper. So confusing.

Today we had Mah Jongg. On Wednesday’s I make lunch for the Mah Jongg group, usually a salad. Since it had been so cold and rainy for the last few days I decided it was the perfect day for a hot chicken and vegetable soup. I wanted to have something on the side that was crunchy so I thought a Waldorf salad would be a nice compliment, but what to do about all that mayonnaise. And thus this recipe was born.

1 1/2 cups chopped celery

1 1/2 cups chopped apples with the peel

1 cup of red seedless grapes, halved

1/2 cup raisins

Juice of a lemon

Dressing

1 cup of Greek yogurt

Zest of one lemon

1 T. Olive oil

Salt

1/2 cup of toasted walnuts

Toss all the ingredients together.

Mix the dressing well and toss with the salad. Add walnuts last so they stay crunchy.