Personally, I don’t like salads very much. They are probably my least favorite side dish to serve with dinner. But I do know this, there is nothing worse than having a salad in front of you and a terrible selection of dressings to choose from. In the end, the dressing really makes the salad right? And I also HATE when salads are so drenched in dressing that the lettuce becomes mushy and wilted. That’s happened to me at restaurants before. Dressing on the side, please!
And as far as the whole “cream vs. oil based dressing” debate, I am pretty neutral. For nutrition reasons I usually go with oil based, but I wouldn’t turn down a creamy dressing, especially ranch. My Mother doesn’t use anything BUT ranch and if she doesn’t have it for her salad then she will make my Dad go out and get some. Same with her coffee creamer. She just doesn’t budge on some things.
I found this particular dressing SO interesting. It’s a very simple dressing that can be thrown together in under a minute in the food processer- LOVE it! And with the addition of avocado there is a nice dose of healthy fats. Not to mention the extra creaminess and beautiful color it provides : ) It really is a delightful dressing.
And as with most homemade dressing recipes, you can adjust the amount of liquid (in this case buttermilk), to give you the consistency you desire. I made mine a little thicker so that I could use it for a dip with carrots, as you can see. It worked out beautifully. If you’ve never made your own dressing before, I really encourage you to do so! Whether it’s with this recipe or another, I bet you’ll be surprised at how easy it is. Don’t forget- homemade dressing are also much better for you! They lack any preservatives or thickeners like guar gum and lecithin.
- 1 avocado
- 1 Tb lime juice
- ½ tsp hot sauce
- ½ cup buttermilk
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 1 Tb minced red onion
- 1 Tb minced fresh cilantro
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- ½ tsp sugar
- ¾ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- Puree avocado, lime juice, and hot sauce in food processor until avocado is broken down, about 30 seconds. Add remaining ingredients and process until dressing is completely smooth.
adapted from ”The New Best Recipe” By Cooks Illustrated
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This looks like it would be great for dipping with some pita chips! Yum.