SALAD DRESSING RECIPES

Julia's Favorite Daily Dressing

Into a mini blender jar (or small canning jar, they work with most American blenders), put in equal parts vinegar (balsamic or rice or sherry or?) or lemon juice, and olive oil. With S & P you've got dressing. Extras I like to add to this dressing: 1 roughly minced, peeled garlic clove, a small dollop of fancy mustard, and a small dollop of jam. Screw blender bottom onto the jar, then insert into the blender and whirl. You've got dressing! The variations are endless....

Low-Fat Blue Cheese Dressing
adapted from Cook's Country
makes about 1 cup 8 servings
Use a great pungent cheese

1/2 cup low-fat plain yogurt
1/4 cup reduced fat mayo
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
2 Tablespoons water
1 clove garlic, grated (try a microplane!)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Whisk all ingredients in a medium bowl until smooth.

Citrus Vinaigrette
Adapted from A New Way to Cook by Sally Schneider

1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon fresh orange, tangerine or Clementine juice
1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
Large pinch of kosher salt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil or hazelnut or walnut oil
2 to 3 teaspoons finely slivered or grated orange or other citrus zest
3 or 4 grindings black pepper (optional)
1 teaspoon minced fresh tarragon (optional)

Combine the juice, vinegar, and salt in a small jar or bowl. Cover and shake vigorously, or stir, to dissolve the salt. Add the oil, zest, and pepper. Cover the jar again and shake well again, until the mixture is blended. Just before serving, add herbs, and shake again.

Julia's note on the following recipe: I was intrigued by this recipe even if the actual title annoyed me. So I tried it tonight: by first looking for ‘olive paste' in the better of our Watsonville supermarkets. (Nob Hill.) The closest I could find was ‘traditional tapenade' so I made it with that. I used 1/3 cup orange juice because that was what one of last week's oranges yielded. I found it to be too strong so I wantonly added 3 tablespoons olive oil, which tamed it a bit. So much for the ‘Dieters' part of this recipe. Try it yourself, you could even just use pitted olives with a bit of garlic or onion if you don't happen to have ‘olive paste' in your fridge!

Dieter's Balsamic Dressing
Adapted from A New Way to Cook by Sally Schneider

2 Tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons commercial green olive paste
¼ cup fresh orange juic or unsalted homemade chicken broth or low-sodium chicken broth
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar, or more to taste
Freshly ground black pepper

In a blender, combine the olive paste, orange juice, balsamic vinegar, and pepper and blend at high speed until the dressing is smooth. Use at once, or transfer to a clean, dry jar so that you can shake the dressing to emulsify it again before using.

Low-Fat Ranch Dressing
adapted from Cook's Country
makes about 1 cup 8 servings

1/2 cup low fat plain yogurt
1/4 cup reduced fat mayo
1 Tablespoons water or buttermilk
1 teaspoons white wine vinegar
1 garlic clove, grated (try a microplane for this job)
1 Tablespoon minced chives
1 Tablespoon minced fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon minced fresh dill
1/4 teaspoon salt
pinch cayenne pepper

Whisk all ingredients in a medium bowl until smooth.

Tahini Dressing from Salad by Amy Nathan

1/2 Cup safflower oil
1/2 pound soft tofu
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
generous 1/4 cup tahini (julia says: use toasted for a richer flavor)
1 garlic clove, minced
1 scallion, chopped
2 Tablespoons tamari (soy sauce)
3/8 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor. (Julia says: I like to use my immersion blender in a tall jar). Adjust the thickness to your liking by adding water. This stores well if covered.

Green Garlic Dressing

1-3 stalks roughly chopped green garlic, tough end leaves discarded
1/3 cup rice vinegar or fresh lemon juice
1 Tablespoon honey or jam
1/3 cup olive oil
S & P

Whirl all in a blender. Can be used as a salad dressing or marinade.

St. Andrew's Salad Dressing

Puréeing the ricotta cheese gives it a consistency similar to sour cream. Serve with tossed greens or use in place of mayonnaise in a potato or macaroni salad. This dressing is also thick enough to use as a vegetable dip.

1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/3 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup drained capers, chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon minced shallots
2 garlic cloves, minced

Place ricotta cheese in a food processor; process until smooth. Combine ricotta cheese and remaining ingredients in a medium bowl; stir until well-blended. Cover and chill.

Yield: 3 cups

Note: Store salad dressing in an airtight container in (serving size: 1 tablespoon)

CALORIES 10 (36% from fat); FAT 0.4g (sat 0.2g,mono 0.1g,poly 0.0g); PROTEIN 0.6g; CHOLESTEROL 1mg; CALCIUM 16mg; SODIUM 112mg; FIBER 0.0g; IRON 0.0mg; CARBOHYDRATE 0.7g

Cooking Light, JULY 1997

Lime Dill Dressing
from Recipes from a Kitchen Garden by Renee Shepherd and Fran Raboff

2 T lime juice 1 T vinegar
1/2 t sugar 1/2 t dry mustard
2 T chopped dill 1 T mayonnaise
1/3 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Mix all ingredients together except oil. When thoroughly blended whisk in the oil.

Dijon Vinaigrette

1/2 C extra virgin olive oil
2 T each plain non-fat yogurt, lemon juice and red wine vinegar
1 T Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons fresh herbs: thyme, rosemary, parsley, etc. or a mixture or dried, but use less if using dried.

Combine in a blender at medium-high speed. Chill overnight before serving.

From : Chef Andrew Cohen
Honey Mustard Cilantro Dressing
1C cilantro stems
1/4 C water
1/4 lime juice(or lime/lemon or lemon)
1/4 C honey
1/4 dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste
1 small clove of garlic peeled(optional)
Puree in blender til smooth, then through opening in top add olive oil slowly until the hole at the center of the dressing disappears. This is usually the proper amount of oil for a properly emulsified vinaigrette.

Options: use some cayenne powder to heat it up. Use 3:1 basil to flat leaf parsley instead of cilantro and use red wine vinegar instead of citrus juice.

Candied pecans to add to your green salad from: Chef Andrew Cohen

Spray sheet of foil with nonstick spray (if you have a Silpat cookie sheet liner, it’s perfect for this). Stir 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon vinegar over medium heat until sugar melts and syrup bubbles, about 3 minutes. Mix in 1 cup pecans. Stir until nuts are toasted and syrup coats nuts evenly, about 7 minutes. Turn nuts out onto prepared foil. Using fork, separate nuts and cool completely (coating will harden).

Orange Balsamic Dressing

3/4 cup orange juice
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons grated orange peel 1 to 2 teaspoons packed brown sugar 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1/2 cup olive oil Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste . Place the orange juice, vinegar, peel and cumin in a blender. Blend for a few seconds. While the motor is running, slowly add the oil in a small stream until mixture is emulsified. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups dressing.

Rice Vinegar, on it's own, makes a great salad dressing.

Julia's Easy Blue Cheese Dressing

1/4 cup light sourcream
1/4 cup mayo
a couple of ounces crumbled blue cheese
salt and
lots of pepper
a bit of finely chopped parsley
finely chopped red onion
1 Tablespoon rice vinegar

Mix all of the above ingredients, then thin with buttermilk or milk.

Raspberry Salad Dressing
adapted from The Summer Book by Susan Branch

1/2 C salad oil
3T raspberry vinegar
1T raspberry jam
1T minced green onions
1/2T Dijon mustard
a few fresh raspberries

Whisk all together-great on fresh spinach.
Makes 1 Cup

Magic Garlic Cream
adapted from The Summer Book by Susan Branch

1/2C milk
1/2C sour cream
2t olive oil
1 clove garlic, pressed
2T cider vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Whisk all together in order given. Makes 1 Cup.