Easy Raw Gourmet: Herbed Green Goddess Dressing

Print

If you read my recent article about raw food benefits you’ll see why I’ve been trying to eat more raw foods these days (and no, I’m not a vegan nor a raw foodie, but I do try to weave in elements of a plant based raw eating diet into my own diet.) Because I love to cook and experiment in the kitchen figuring out how to make raw gourmet food has particularly captured my interest.

Although true raw gourmet—with the dehydrator and all that— can be particularly time consuming, easy raw gourmet is more my speed and can actually be as simple as preparing a chopped salad topped with a sensational dressing, something a little more exciting and a little more special than just a ho-hum vinaigrette.

A New Look at Good Old Green Goddess Dressing

When I was little, my parents frequently took me to steakhouse style restaurants with salad bars. One of the things I remember most about those salad bars was the ultra yummy, oh so pretty, Green Goddess Dressing. I wasn’t exactly a huge fan of salad but if I could douse my greens in globs of good old Green Goddess Dressing I was happy to eat my salad.

While Green Goddess dressing was always my favorite as a kid, I’ve always loved the taste of pretty much any cream-based dressing. However, basically any conventional recipe for a cream-based dressing (including my beloved Green Goddess dressing) is a nutritional nightmare of empty calories with the bulk of the recipe being a mix of mayonnaise and/ or sour cream. In other words, most creamy dressings pretty much cancel out the benefits of eating the salad in the first place!

My raw gourmet Herbed Green Goddess Dressing recipe below is one that you don’t have to feel guilty about but I assure you it can compete head on with the steakhouse dressings I remember as a kid. AND! It’s incredibly easy to make.

Green Goddess Dressing—-2 Ways

Although I usually eat my Green Goddess dressing over salad greens, it’s also delicious as a dip and perfect for entertaining.

When I do make a salad though I like everything to be finely chopped, chopped, chopped. Something about finely chopping vegetables makes them tastier. Try finely chopping any of the following vegetables: carrots, celery, cucumber (seeds & skins removed), red bell pepper, or yellow beets. Then you want to mix and match your salad greens—mix something crunchy like romaine, radicchio or Belgian endive with something soft like butterhead lettuce, mache or watercress. You can also add some nuts too—I especially like chopped walnuts or pecans with Green Goddess Dressing. That’s all there is to it!

Herbed Green Goddess Dressing Recipe

Note: you can substitute parsley for the chives and tarragon. If you want it to be completely vegan substitute agave nectar for the honey.

• ¼ cup fresh coconut water or O.N.E. Coconut Water brand
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons cold-pressed flax oil or extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup raw macadamia nuts
• 1 teaspoon raw honey
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
• Unrefined  salt, to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Place all ingredients in a high-speed blender (such as a Vitamix) and process until smooth and creamy.

Leftovers can be stored in a covered container in the fridge for 3 days.