I've been making my own salad dressings for years, and I love them all. I usually make one kind--perhaps two if my hubby asks for his favorite (Thousand Island, which I've also come to love)--and use it for a week or two until it's gone before making a different kind. But I may very well get stuck on this recipe. I've already made it three times in a row, and my guys keep asking for more!
The inspiration behind this dressing comes from Pinterest (where else??). A few avocado-based dressings came across my Pinterest feed, so I'd look at them, make sure the link worked, then pin the recipe to try later. Then, a similar recipe came across my Facebook feed. I figured I'd try that, and so I did.
It was a great starting point, I think, for me to create my own version. You can see above that olive oil was involved in my first attempt. The original recipe called for 1/4 cup, and I figured I'd cut it down to two tablespoons (half). The recipe also called for one full teaspoon of hot sauce. Those two ingredients were sticking points for me, so I tweaked and came up with my own version, even healthier, too! Keep reading...
See the mixing jar above? I added a whole clove of garlic (from my garden, stored in my freezer) and a one-tablespoon lemon cube (from lemons a friend gave me, stored as juiced cubes in my freezer). I added those in, and my handy-dandy Braun stick blender blended everything right up, as smooth and creamy as could be.
After making the original recipe with less oil, I was not happy that I could actually taste it; it was a really strong taste. That usually doesn't happen with me, ever, with olive oil, so since it was so strong, I ended up leaving it completely out--no harm done at all! (I didn't take pictures of the ingredients without the oil, so you'll see the evoo in my images.)
Next, although I love spicy, one full teaspoon of the Tabasco was too much. At first, the taste seemed perfect. But as I ate my salad, the Tabasco "zing" built and built until it was almost too spicy. So I cut that back, from one full teaspoon to one-quarter teaspoon.
After making those two adjustments, the only other thing I did was to add a few tablespoons of milk--real, non-rBGH whole milk. I use the good stuff! It's only a few tablespoons, it adds a little fat back into the recipe, and it helped to thin it.
My new recipe--above and below. No oil!
Notice I store this dressing in a glass jar (below), not a bottle. There's a reason I'm doing that! It's still thick, and trust me--you could almost just take a spoon (or a bag of tortilla chips) and use this dressing as a dip. Yes, it's that good.
Christine's Creamy Avocado Dressing
1 avocado (medium-large)
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (I used a nice organic plain yogurt)
2 tablespoons milk (more or less depending on how thick/thin you want your dressing)
1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice (both are equally yummy)
1 garlic clove
3/4 teaspoon salt (real sea salt)
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce (Tabasco for me; it's what was in my fridge)
Cut the avocado in half, pit it, and scoop the meat out into a jar. Add the rest of the ingredients. I used a stick blender to blend everything together. (If hand-whisking, mince your garlic first.)
Please store this dressing in your fridge! The last time I made this, it lasted two weeks, mostly because I was out of town for a few days and there was some left when I got home (woot!) The avocado may discolor a bit, and/or you may see a little liquid when you pull it out of the fridge. The discoloration is normal, and as for the liquid--just stir it back up and continue to enjoy it on whatever you're making.
Calorie-wise, two tablespoons of this dressing equals only about 35 calories. So make it and enjoy it guilt-free!!
Sauteed Brussels sprouts with tomatoes, topped with avocado dressing and fresh Romano cheese.
Back to life,
Christine
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