Waldorf Salad with Notes of Anise and Lemon

You can't beat a really good salad, as long as said salad is texturally 'sound' with ample crunch factor and interesting titbits to suprise you. Salads in my house tend to be a left overs graveyard where anything goes. I like to go nuts with different colours, raw & cooked ingredients, seeds, nuts... whatever. Whack it all in, mix it up, devour. Easy as. And ideally you'll have made enough to keep aside (undressed) for tomorrow's lunch.

Today’s salad is the perfect companion to a barbecue on a hot summers evening. Lots of cool crunchy cos lettuce, slices of crisp apple, mandatory walnuts for aforementioned crunch factor. All you need is a small blender (or a whisk in it’s absence) and a mandolin or sharp knife and off you go. Get some friends around, pop the barbecue on and pretty up your table with this festive number. I promise they'll love it.

For the salad:
2 apples, cored and finely sliced
1 large celery stick, finely diced
1 fennel bulb, finely sliced
1 core of a cos lettuce, leaves separated

For the dressing:
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup greek, full fat yoghurt
1 tablespoon dijon or French mustard
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup grapeseed oil
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup walnuts

Prepare the salad ingredients and pop them into a bowl of iced water whilst you prepare the dressing.

For the dressing, blend the egg yolk, yoghurt, mustard, vinegar, lemon juice and salt and pepper until smooth. Combine the oil in portions, slowly blending as you do. Taste. Add more lemon juice if you prefer more lemony tang.

Combine with salad with the dressing and walnuts and mix well.