Maus went shopping the other day and on the shopping list was half a celery.  We were going to make a chicken dish that required one stalk.  I had already thought I could make a pot of pea and ham soup to use up some of the celery I knew would be left over.

Instead of half a celery, Maus came home with one very large celery.  It appears that the half celery was nearly as expensive as the full one and Maus can never forego a bargain.  I did explain to her that it is only a bargain if you need it but I have made that point, off and on, for over 35 years now, to no avail.

So the other day I said to Maus, “I guess you will be making a Waldorf salad with the celery in the fridge.”  Right on cue, Maus went to the study and retrieved one of her favourite cook books, The Seasonal Kitchen by Beverley Sutherland Smith, and turned to the celery chapter where she found this recipe.  The recipe is for a standard Waldorf salad with the addition of chicken which turns a delicious salad into a filling meal.

This recipe is very retro but very nice.  Every time we have Waldorf salad, I think how wonderful it is and wonder why we don’t have it more often.

These quantities serve 2.

Ingredients:

Chicken:

• 1 chicken breast, boned and skinned
• oil
• salt and pepper
• water

Salad:

• 4 stalks of celery, sliced
• 2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and diced
• 1 tbs lemon juice
• ¼ cup sultanas
• ½ cup walnut pieces
• ¼ cup mayonnaise
• ¼ cup French salad dressing
  (the recipe actually called for ½ a cup of mayonnaise but I think mayonnaise is too thick and gluggy so I like to thin it with salad dressing.)

Method:

1. Saute the chicken in a little oil until the outside is brown.
2. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Add about ¼ cup of water and cover.  Turn the heat down to very low and leave until cooked through.  The breast we had was quite thick so it took about 30 minutes.
4. When chicken is cooked, remove from the pan and slice thinly across the grain.
5. Mix the mayonnaise and the salad dressing until well combined then set aside.
6. Place the celery and apple in a bowl, add the lemon juice and stir to coat the apple.
7. Add the sultanas, walnuts and mayonnaise mixture, stirring to combine.
8. Distribute salad between two plates then top with slices of chicken.