Nourish Network » Dressings & Dips

Lime Caesar Dressing

Alison Ashton — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 14:25:07 +0000

I love Cristina Ferrare’s new cookbook Big Bowl of Love (Sterling Epicure)! Her way of using fresh, seasonal ingredients in simple preparations is our idea of nourishing. This dressing is inspired by Ferrare’s Caesar dressing. It has a lovely, light texture and authentic flavor. Adjust the amount of anchovy to suit your taste. Serve this over romaine lettuce with crunchy croutons.

6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 garlic cloves, peeled and grated
1-3 anchovies, minced to a paste OR 1 teaspoon anchovy paste
3 tablespoons finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Whisk together the first 4 ingredients in a small bowl. Whisk in the cheese. Season to taste with pepper.

Yields about 1/2 cup. (Refrigerate up to 3 days.)

Basil-Mint Pesto

Alison Ashton — Thu, 05 May 2011 19:00:02 +0000

This emerald pesto is ideal when the weather starts to warm up – the mint adds a springy note while the basil offers a hint of summer to come. Stir it into Maria Speck’s Speedy Chickpea Couscous with Pesto, serve a dollop atop fish or poultry, spread it on crostini or add it to hot pasta. This recipe yields a generous amount. Use whatever you need now, and freeze the leftovers in an ice-cube tray. Once it’s frozen, pop the pesto cubes out of the tray and transfer them to a heavy-duty zip-top bag and freeze up to 1 month.

1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
2 garlic cloves
1 ounce fresh basil (about 1-1/2 cups loosely packed)
1/2 ounce fresh mint (about 3/4 cup loosely packed)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Fresh lemon juice, to taste
Sea salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Place the nuts and garlic cloves in a food processor or blender; pulse until coarsely chopped. (Or make your pesto the old-school way and pound it in a mortar and pestle.) Add basil and mint; pulse until coarsely chopped. Add oil and juice to taste; pulse to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Yields 2/3 cup

Fennel and Mint Raita

Alison Ashton — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 18:50:39 +0000

Raita is an Indian condiment made with yogurt, vegetables, herbs and spices. It’s often made with fresh cucumber, but in spring, we like to use fresh fennel and mint. Try it with our Red Lentil Dal with Caramelized Onions, Carrots and Peas. It’s also delicious with lamb, poultry or fish. Save the pretty fennel fronds to garnish the bowl.

1 (7-ounce) container Greek yogurt
1/4 cup finely chopped fennel
1 tablespoon cup chopped fresh mint
1/2 teaspoon fresh lime juice
Pinch ground cumin
Pinch of cayenne
Sea salt, to taste

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. yogurt, chopped fennel, mint, pinch of cumin, cayenne and 1/2 teaspoon lime juice in a small bowl.

Yields about 1 cup

Sustainable Tuna Caponata

Alison Ashton — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 21:23:39 +0000

This is based on a Ligurian-style caponata, with tuna as the main ingredient so the a taste of a premium sustainable canned fish like Wild Planet’s Wild Albacore really shines. Think of it as a mayo-free tuna salad. It’s meant to be made ahead to give the flavors time to develop, so mix it up tonight to enjoy for lunch tomorrow. It’s a winner spooned onto crostini or multigrain crackers, or tucked into pita bread.

2 (2-by-4-inch) whole wheat crackers (such as Al-Mok)
1 (5-ounce) can sustainably caught albacore tuna (such as Wild Planet)
1/2 cup chopped green olives
1 tablespoon capers, rinsed
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar, or more to taste
Sea salt, to taste
Finely chopped flat-leaf parsley (optional)

Soak the crackers in water for 15-20 minutes until soft; drain thoroughly.

Drain the tuna. If it’s packed in water, discard the water. If it’s packed in oil, reserve the oil to use in this recipe. Place the tuna in a small bowl, breaking it up with a fork. Add soaked crackers, olives and capers. Gently fold in oil, vinegar and salt to taste. Chill at least 1 hour and up to overnight. Serve sprinkled with parsley, if you like.

Serves 2

Adapted from La Cucina: The Regional Cooking of Italy (Rizzoli).

Mom’s “French” Dressing

Lia Huber — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 22:12:27 +0000

This recipe–a zippy, tomato-based salad dressing–is my adaptation of one that was handed down to my mom early on in her marriage by her Aunt Gladys. “This is the French dressing made and used in several of the Italian restaurants in the small town where I grew up, Princeton, IL,” Mom says in her notes. It’s been a staple of our family for as long as I can remember.

1 clove garlic
1/2 onion, chopped
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Worcester sauce
1/4 cup vegetable broth
1/2 cup ketchup
3 tablespoons canola oil

Blend garlic through broth in a blender until smooth. Add ketchup and oil, season with salt, and blend again.

Store in a jar in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Makes 2 cups

End-of-Summer Pico de Gallo

Alison Ashton — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 16:00:38 +0000

This simple, fresh salsa is a tasty way to use up late-season ‘maters, and you can pull it together in no time. Serve it with our Vegan Tempeh Fajitas, as a condiment with grilled chicken or fish, or simply with chips and a nice, cold beer.

2 tomatoes, finely chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
1 jalapeno chile, finely chopped
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
Sea salt, to taste

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Let stand 30 minutes to allow the flavors to meld and develop.

Yields about 2 cups

Roasted Red Pepper Romesco Sauce

Alison Ashton — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 04:47:36 +0000

Thanks to Spain’s World Cup soccer victory, Spanish cuisine is hotter than ever. Our version of Catalonian tomato-red pepper romesco sauce boosts the ratio of roasted bell peppers. There are lots of ways to roast peppers and other items. Lia likes to do it on the stovetop in a comal (a flat griddle pan). You can also throw them on a hot grill (especially good and smoky if your add soaked wood chips to the coals or a smoker box), or use a pair of tongs to hold peppers over the open flame of a gas stove. Since this recipe calls for roasting a fairly large volume, we pop ‘em under the broiler. However you do it, the result is a simple, smoky sauce that you can serve with grilled bread as an appetizer; as a condiment with fish, poultry, or meat; tossed with pasta; or even on pizza in place of traditional tomato sauce. It may just end up being, like it has mine, your new all-purpose sauce.

4 large red bell peppers, halved and seeded
1 medium tomato
1 medium onion, cut into 1/2-inch slices
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup toasted chopped almonds
1 slice whole wheat bread, toasted, crusts removed, and cubed
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar OR red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika
Sea salt

Preheat broiler.

Arrange bell pepper halves, skin side up, on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Add tomato and onion to pan. Broil 10-15 minutes or until pepper skins are blackened and charred (the more uniformly charred they are, the easier it will be to peel the skins off), turning tomato and onion slices halfway through. Transfer peppers and tomato to a large bowl and cover (you can use a large dinner plate) for 15 minutes.

Peel peppers and tomato, discarding seeds from tomato. Place peppers, tomato, onion, and garlic in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add almonds and bread and pulse until chopped. Add oil, vinegar, and paprika and process until smooth. Add salt to taste.

The sauce will keep for up to 5 days in the refrigerator and up to 3 months in the freezer. Freeze it in ice-cube trays; when frozen, pop the romesco cubes out of the trays and store them in a zip-top plastic bag.

Makes 2 1/2 cups

Fiery-Sweet Peach Salsa

Alison Ashton — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 02:12:39 +0000

The heat of the jalapeno and bite of the red onion play nicely off the subtle sweetness of the peach in this summery salsa. Serve with just about anything grilled. Or if you’re like me, pop open a cold beer, rip open a bag of tortilla chips, and dig in! I like my salsa caliente, so I leave the seeds and stems in the chile pepper. To tame the heat, discard the stems and seeds.

4 peaches, peeled, pitted, and finely chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1 jalapeno, finely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
sea salt

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Let stand at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to develop and intensify. You can make this up to two days in advance and store in the refrigerator.

Makes 2 cups

Spanish Leaning Spinach and Chickpea Dip

Lia Huber — Tue, 11 May 2010 18:01:34 +0000

I waffled about whether to name this ‘hummus’ or ‘chickpea dip’, but ultimately thought it veered far enough from tradition to go with the latter. It is, in any case, delicious. If you’ve ever had any doubt as to the strength of pounded garlic, this little dish will set you straight.

3 cloves garlic, peeled and pounded to a paste in a mortar and pestle with a pinch of salt
2 cups cooked chickpeas
12 ounces frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons tahini
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground fennel
sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Combine garlic, spinach, chickpeas, lemon juice and tahini in a food processor and blend until smooth.

Warm olive oil in a small pan over medium-low heat and add spices. Stir and cook for 1-2 minutes, until just fragrant. Scrape oil and spices into bowl of food processor, add a pinch of salt and process until well blended.

Serves 8

Curry Dipping Sauce

Lia Huber — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 06:19:38 +0000

A super-simple dipping sauce great with everything from grilled artichokes to quinoa cakes.

2 tablespoons low fat sour cream
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon schiracha sauce
1/4 teaspoon yellow curry powder

Mix all ingredients together.

Serves 4