Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Green Goddess Dressing


You see, Green Goddess is much more than a dressing. Since I've started making it, it's made its way into a variety of applications. It makes a fantastic dip for just about anything on its own, but toss it into a blender with some white beans and you've got something rather special indeed. I have seen it as a dressing for cold pasta, and served with grilled jumbo shrimp; I think scallops would be at least as delightful.
In researching the dressing, I came across a lot of different recipes with a surprising amount of variation: Different proportions of mayonnaise, plain greek yogurt, sour cream and vinegar; with or without anchovy; and while nearly all call for parsley and chives, others called for basil, tarragon, thyme, mint and even chervil. Despite Martha's greatest efforts to market it, however, chervil remains an elusive ingredient for most of us. While they call for parsley and chives, the original evidently did not include tarragon; this will not stand. For reasons I cannot justify, in my mind Green Goddess must have tarragon. Must. So I added it. And I stand by that decision. Fact is, you could tweak this recipe ten times till Tuesday, and you'd still end up with a delicious, refreshing dressing, so have at it. I opted to use a variet of herbs from this years herb garden. I have a combination of basil, mint, chives, Italian parsley and tarragon.


3/4 c. GF real mayonnaise
1/4 c. GF sour cream
1/4 c. each chives, parsley and tarragon, finely chopped

a small handful of fresh mint, about 6 leaves
a small handful of fresh basil beaves, about 6 leaves
1 small garlic clove
1 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 Tbsp white wine vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste


In the bowl of a food processor, mince the herbs and garlic. Add the sour cream, mayonnaise, vinegar and lemon juice, pulse to blend. Season with salt and fresh ground black pepper. Pulse to combine. Transfer to and air tight container.  Cover and refrigerate. Best if made several hours or up to a day ahead.

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