Easy tangy creamy Caesar with a spicy kick that can be used as salad dressing or as a dip!
In my opinion, the reason salads get a bad rap for being boring comes down to one thing: the dressing. Add a phenomenal dressing, and suddenly, everyone wants seconds! Not to knock vinaigrettes, but personally I prefer creamy dressings; they’re so satisfying and make a salad more hearty and satiating. Plus, they also double as the perfect dip for vegetables, pita chips, or grilled chicken skewers, as a sauce for drizzling over grain bowls, or to toss with fillings stuffed into a wrap. So many options!
Now that the weather is starting to warm up, albeit slowly in Minnesota, but I digress, it’s easier to make a meal of something light and chilled…as in, the season for eating stews and casseroles exclusively is almost over! Today’s recipe is right on cue: Easy Creamy Caesar Dressing! Fun fact: Caesar salad originated in Tijuana, Mexico, which is just over the border from where I used to live! (*long reminiscent sigh…warm and sunny!) When I casually mentioned to my dad I was working on a creamy Caesar dressing variety, he said I should add Worcestershire sauce. He explained that my grandparents traveled down the state of California and ate at the restaurant where the invention took place and that Worcestershire was the secret ingredient. (If you’re not a fan, feel free to skip it.)
Along with a dash of Worcestershire sauce, add 8 other ingredients to a blender and voila! You’ll have a tangy, creamy, delightful dressing or dip! All you’ll need is cottage cheese, anchovies, garlic, parmesan cheese, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, cayenne, and black pepper. Of course, the spice is optional, but it adds a unique twist to a classic and rounds out the flavor. I prefer a thick consistency, definitely more like a dip. But, if you want to thin it, simply add some olive oil, some water, and/or a little extra lemon juice, until it’s to your liking. Whipping together this dressing takes only a few minutes. It will be summer on your plate in no time!
EASY CREAMY CAESAR DRESSING (GF, SD)
Yield: approximately 1¼ to 1½ cups (more if you thin it with extra liquid)
What You'll Need:
1 cup cottage cheese
6 anchovy filets, in their oils
2 small cloves garlic
¼ cup grated parmesan
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, gluten free version if needed
Dash ground cayenne pepper (also called ground red pepper)
Fresh black pepper, to taste
How To Make it
1. Place cottage cheese with remaining ingredients into a high speed blender. Blend on high for a minute or two, scraping down the sides as needed.
2. Just kidding…there’s only one step! Keep refrigerated in an airtight container or jar with a fitted lid for up to a week.
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Abby
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