As a kid, I remember watching an episode of I Love Lucy in which Lucy gets so many compliments for a salad dressing she’s prepared, that she and Ethel Mertz decide to go into business together as salad dressing moguls.
They bottle a creamy white concoction, and of course, as they say, ‘hilarity ensues.’ Shades of things to come, I was less interested in the comedy and more interested in fantasizing about how that savory milkiness might taste, sluicing just about anything one might bring in from the garden.
My fantasy became reality a few years later when a Ranch Salad Dressing hit the market in the form of seasonings in a pouch requiring only the addition of mayonnaise and milk.
Later, it was even easier to buy the dressing in a bottle. But, as time went on, I became disenchanted with the stuff — it seemed to have changed over time — more cloying than seasoned herbaceous-ness.
It seemed to me that the recipe had been altered from the original. Maybe it hadn’t. It may be that it just no longer matched my memory of a Lucy fantasy fulfilled.
So, I set out to reinvent my original, real or imagined, experience with the stuff.
Capturing my original enchantment with Ranch Salad Dressing, this dressing is like a soft, white, cotton sundress on a warm summer day.
For years, I’ve loved the bright, fresh, snap of flavor I could only get in the shredded lettuce salads served in my favorite, family-owned Mexican restaurants.
Duplicating the dressing however, proved elusive and my attempts were, as they say, “close, but no cigar.”
Then, one day I was without my usual red wine vinegar, so I used some seasoned rice wine vinegar to flavor my half of avocado.
Eureka!
Accidentally, it was the closest I had come to capturing the herby tang I was hankering after. All it needed was less edge and a deeper flavor.
I’m not talking about the cumin/lime combo of flavors that many chain restaurants use for their salad dressings (also delicious), but rather, the oregano ‘hit’ that small, authentic restaurants in my area often prefer to offer.
After a bit of tinkering, I present to you Mexican Vinaigrette salad dressing — a truly refreshing counterpart to just about any Mexico-inspired meal. It also pairs well with left-over turkey and gravy for a ‘cut above’ lunch — just saying.
1/4 teaspoon (slightly rounded)xanthan gumoptional, but dressing will have a thinner consistancy and dried herbs will not incorporate, but will instead, float on top of dressing
1/4 teaspoon (slightly rounded)xanthan gumoptional, but dressing will have a thinner consistancy and dried herbs will not incorporate, but will instead, float on top of dressing
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Instructions
Place all ingredients in a screw top jar that will hold at least 8 ounces, shake vigorously and refrgerate several hours to allow flavors to meld.
The genesis for this Tahini Salad Dressing came from a favorite, creamy, Middle Eastern inspired ‘store-bought’ salad dressing of mine from a few years back, that I used to find in the ‘natural foods’ aisle of the grocery store — it gained in popularity and naturally (pun intended) gained substantially in price as well.
I’m unable to justify such extravagance for a truly small amount of dressing — caviar is a luxury item — I just don’t think salad dressing falls into the same category.
This tangy salad dressing gets its pucker quotient from freshly squeezed lemon juice and cider vinegar. With a rich flavor from toasted sesame oil and soy sauce (if preferred, liquid aminos can substitute for the soy sauce), this dressing is a study in savory, substantial deliciousness.
To make this dressing more of a clone of the original, one could always add a small handful each of chopped flat-leaf parsley and either chopped green onions or chives (I prefer not to, only because I can then add these ingredients directly to my salads, or not, according to my mood in the moment).
