Herby Citrus Salad Dressing

If you're going to eat vegetables and salads, make them sing with a good quality dressing that does away with all the chemicals and questionable oils used in bottled dressings. This herby citrus salad dressing is my go-to because it's easy to make, tastes great with a lot of different dishes, and is made out of ingredients you probably already have in your pantry and fridge.

I love eating raw vegetables now, but if you haven't been eating them and instead have been eating foods that are rich, sweet or highly seasoned, they probably seem like a pretty dull thing to eat. The challenge is that, while their flavors are vibrant, they can't compete with the flavorings in prepared foods that are engineered to make your mouth water.

Here's how I think about it. I can't argue that there are some rich, sweet, highly seasoned and highly processed foods out there that taste amazing. And, eating them occasionally is fine. I just decided, for myself, that I liked feeling calm, level-headed and balanced every day. I liked not worrying whether my clothes, or my swimsuit, would fit. I didn't want to be bothered by cravings. I wanted to sleep well at night and wake up feeling rested. And, I wanted to live without taking medications, spending time in hospitals or being dependent on long-term health care services.

As I see it, the only way to be independent and self-sufficient with control over your life, is to be healthy. And, if learning to make vegetables taste delicious is the cost, I'm going to do it. How about you?

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• How to Make Herby Citrus Dressing
• Variations
• Equipment
• Storage
• Related
• Consider This

Ingredients

This is an easy one to make. Hopefully, you'll make it so often, you'll memorize the ingredients and the process. Or maybe you'll experiment with it and make it slightly different in a way that you love even more. Let's get on with it, then, shall we?

• Garlic: Buy garlic bulbs that look fresh and do not show green sprouting. Give the bulb a squeeze. It should be firm but not squishy. Smell it. It shouldn't smell like anything. If it smells like garlic, it's old. As a bonus, ongoing research suggests that raw garlic may help protect disease, so add with gusto.
• Ginger root: Ginger adds a little spice to the dressing. But the real benefit is that ginger increases the rate at which food exits the stomach and continues along the digestive process. Eating ginger encourages efficient digestion, so food doesn’t linger as long in the gut.
• Orange juice: Fresh squeezed tastes best in this recipe. It's easy to make in the juicer.
• Lemon juice: Buy fresh lemons and squeeze with a lemon squeezer like this one. It squeezes all - and I mean all - the juice out of the lemon. Ten times better than the old style ones.
• Tahini (sesame seed paste): Smooth and rich in texture, tahini adds a unique sweetness offset by a very little bit of bitterness in the background. Research suggest that it also packs a variety of health benefits. There are too many to list here, but enough to make you want to find ways to eat more of it.
• Parsley: Buy fresh. Wrap in a towel to catch aspiration and store in a produce bag in the refrigerator.
• Salt: Lately I've been using Real Salt for this dish but you could use kosher salt instead.

See recipe card for quantities.

How to Make Herby Citrus Dressing

This recipe is super easy to make in just a few steps!

• Remove the peel of the garlic cloves: Place a chef's knife on each clove and pound it once with your fist. The peel will loosen from the garlic clove. Add the garlic cloves to the blender container.
• Peel the ginger root: Remove the peel of the ginger and cut the root into four small pieces. Add to the blender.
• Squeeze lemon: Cut a lemon or two in half and squeeze the juice into the blender.
• Add the rest of the ingredients: Add the tahini, orange juice, parsley, salt and water to the blender.
• Blend: Blend at a medium speed for 45-60 seconds until all ingredients are pureed and the mixture is creamy.
• Taste and adjust: Taste and adjust salt, lemon to taste and water to reach the consistency you prefer - less for a creamier, richer dressing; more for a looser, lighter one.

Variations

I love this recipe as is, but there are so many ways to customize it to your preferences:

• Vary or omit the herbs: Substitute cilantro, chives, or basil for the parsley. Or omit the herbs altogether. Herbs can be an acquired taste, especially in a dressing like this where their flavors are front and center. Try a few different herbs to find the ones you like best.
• Add a little sweetness: Add a little coconut nectar to sweeten the dressing. The parsley and lemon juice can be a little bitter (an acquired taste) at first. Adding a little sweetness can be the perfect remedy.
• Add a little spice: Add in some chile flakes, a little jalapeno or other spicy peppers to add some heat if that's your thing.

Equipment

• Blender: I used a Vitamix A3500 blender to make this dressing in quantity and believe the quality of Vitamix blenders supports the required investment. When I first started making dressings though, I used to make just a serving or two when I needed it and used a Nutribullet personal blender which works fine for small amounts.
• Wide mouth airtight glass jars: You'll want to store your dressing if you don't consume it all the day you make it. The best container I've found is a glass jar with an airtght lid like these.
• Lemon squeezer: The freshest, best tasting lemon juice is squeezed right from the lemon. Having a lemon squeezer like this one makes it easy.

Storage

Stored in an airtight glass container, this dressing will last 3-4 days in the refrigerator.

Related

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Consider This

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