A Trio of Dressings

Green Goddess & Roasted Tomato & Charred Shallot

Salads are great but they get boring real fast. I love to make dressings out of produce because not only are you creating a fresh topping for something healthy but you’re adding unexpected elements without adding tons of heavy fats. Don’t get me wrong, I am a huge blue cheese dressing fan, but it doesn’t need to go on every salad.

I also love good homemade dressings because they can be used to top grilled meats and fish or can be tossed with roasted vegetables to make a really stand out dish. Plus crudités, a classic.

I love green goddess dressing but I really don’t like the raw garlic leftovers that stay with you all day. This version is very delicate and light without any garlic.

Light and Fresh Green Goddess Dressing 

yield: 12 ounces 

prep: 8 minutes 

1 packed cup Mixed Soft Herbs, rough chopped – choose your own adventure    here! I used equal parts parsley, basil, cilantro and mint
2 Whole Scallions, rough chopped
¾ cup Whole Fat Greek Yogurt
¼ cup Lemon Juice
1 tsp Dijon
½ tsp Honey
½ tsp Sambal Olek or Chili Hot Sauce
1 Anchovy Filet / ½ tsp Anchovy Paste – this can be subbed for ½ tsp Soy Sauce 
Kosher Salt and Fresh Cracked Pepper 

In a food processor add mixed herbs, scallions, lemon juice, Dijon, honey, sambal and anchovy. Blend until as smooth as possible. It will still be a little chunky and rough. Add yogurt and blend until smooth. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Holds for 1 week in the refrigerator. 

This is one of my all-time favorite dressings. It’s great for salads but also amazing on grilled fish or as a topping to roasted vegetables. Although the ingredients may scream marinara sauce, nothing about it is familiar in that way. It is bright and vinegar forward, without being harsh. 

Roasted Tomato Vinaigrette

yield : 12 ounces 

prep : 35 minutes 

1 pint / 16 oz Cherry or On The Vine Tomatoes 
1 small head Garlic
¼ cup Olive Oil 
2 ½ Tbsp White Wine Vinegar
1 tsp Honey 
1 tsp Kosher Salt, plus more for seasoning tomatoes 
Fresh Cracked Black Pepper 

Preheat oven to 400°

Cut ½ inch off the top of the garlic head, exposing the cloves, but not removing too much from them. Place in a small baking dish with tomatoes. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over exposed garlic cloves and tomatoes. Season both with salt and roast for 25 - 30 minutes, until tomatoes are bursting and beginning to char. 

Remove from oven and carefully pour juices from the pan into a container to reserve for blending. There should be around 3 tablespoons of liquid/olive mix from the pan. If the pan is relatively dry you’ll need to add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of water to the recipe. 

Place tomatoes into a food processor. Squeeze garlic cloves out of the head into the processor. Add white wine vinegar, honey, measured salt and fresh cracked pepper. With the food processor running, drizzle in the juices from roasting, followed by the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Blend until smooth and lighter in color. Taste for seasoning. If it tastes bland you can add a small pinch of salt. All tomatoes will be different so occasionally you’ll need a bit more seasoning. 

This dressing will last a week in the refrigerator. 

This is an intensely flavored dressing that is really good on bitter greens like radicchio and endive. It’s also great for a shredded kale salad with a sharper cheese like pecorino and a crunchy bread crumb topping. The recipe is smaller because you don’t need as much dressing for a flavorful salad – more bang for your buck if you will. 

Charred Shallot Vinaigrette 

yield: 6 ounces 

prep: 15 minutes 

1 large or 2 small Shallots, peeled and halved length wise
¼ cup Olive Oil 
1 ½ Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar 
1 Tbsp Lemon 
1 Tbsp Water 
1 ½ tsp Stone Ground Mustard
1 tsp Soy Sauce
½ tsp Sambal Olek or Chili Hot Sauce
½ tsp Honey 
Kosher Salt and Fresh Cracked Pepper
 

Drizzle shallots with a small amount of oil. Heat a pan over medium high heat. Place shallots sliced side down and allow to char for 1 - 2 minute. Check for color. We’re not going for fully burnt but we do want a deep brown color. Once shallots have a nice dark sear, flip them to the round side and allow them to cook for another minute, flip them back to the sliced side. Leave the shallots in the pan and remove it from the heat. Allow them to sit in the hot pan while we measure out the rest of the ingredients. This will help them cook a little further. 

Reserving the olive oil on the side, measure out remaining ingredients into a food processor. 

Rough chop shallots and add to the processor. Buzz until a thick chunky paste forms. With the machine running drizzle in olive oil and season liberally with salt and pepper. If the dressing tastes sharp, like raw onion, add a small pinch more of salt. Salt helps neutralize the raw sharp flavor without actually adding a salty flavor. 

This dressing will last a week in the refrigerator.