When I was in my teens a green fluffy dessert appeared at family gatherings called Watergate Salad. While Watergate Salad as a recipe did appear around the time of the Watergate scandal, apparently it was never served at the Watergate Hotel , and the best explanation I have found of the name is that ‘it’s full of nuts’. While it is not an Irish dessert, it is a GREEN dessert, and therefore qualifies in my book for St. Patrick’s Day celebrations!
I found this recipe in the clippings my mother had in her recipe box. I don’t think the original recipe included the bananas, but my father loved bananas and she was always looking for ways to incorporate them for him.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Watergate Salad
A pineapple pistachio delight that was all the rage…for a while. Pudding, pineapple and Cool Whip…ambrosia!
Ingredients
- 1 4 ounce package INSTANT pistachio pudding (cook and serve won’t work)
- 1 16 ounce can crushed pineapple, undrained
- 1 9 ounce container Cool Whip
- ½ cup maraschino or Bing cherries chopped
- ½ cup walnuts or pistachios chopped
- 1 cup miniature marshmallows
- Sliced bananas optional
- extra whole cherries for garnish
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, combine pudding mix, pineapple and pineapple juice until dissolved. Let sit 5 minutes.
- Fold in Cool Whip, then cherries, nuts and marshmallows. Just before serving, fold in bananas. Recipe is best if put together the night before and stored in the refrigerator (except for the bananas). Bananas go in last minute because they brown easily.
- Serve in an ice cream bowl with a spoonful of whipped cream and a cherry on top.
Notes
Serves 8.
Keep refrigerated.