Just look at this jar of salad dressing, sitting on a shelf in the fridge, so calm, so cool, so refreshingly ranch-y. And it is wicked simple to toss together in about five minutes, with just a few fresh herbs and basic ingredients, along with an overnight rest for the flavors to blend.
I came across the basis for this recipe from Ree Drummond on foodnetwork.com, but it looked to me as though it called for way too much fresh dill – two tablespoons(!) – so I made a few changes, and am very happy…
INGREDIENTS
•1 clove garlic
•1/4 tsp sea salt
•1/4 tsp Aleppo pepper
•1 cup mayonnaise
•1/2 cup sour cream
•1/4 cup curly parsley, minced
•2 tsp fresh dill, minced
•1 tbsp minced fresh chives
•1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
•1/2 tsp ground black pepper
•1/2 tsp white vinegar
•1/2 tsp paprika
•1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
•1/4 tsp Earl’s hot sauce or your favorite
•1/4 cup buttermilk*
– plus more to thin the dressing, if you like
•1 tsp shallot
Peel and mince the garlic, then pound into a paste with the sea salt and Aleppo pepper.
Stir into the mayonnaise and sour cream in a large bowl, then add the fresh herbs and the remaining ingredients.
Take a taste.
Nice, but it needed a little sumpin’ sumpin’, so I added one teaspoon of minced shallot, stirred well to blend, then turned it all into a jar – this recipe makes one heavy pint – and allowed it to rest in the fridge overnight.
One taste told me I had done good – a bit of garlicky bite, and the dill wasn’t too heavy, as I believe those two tablespoons would’ve been. The dressing is a bit thick, so if you like, go ahead and thin it out with up to another 1/4 cup of buttermilk until you have the dressing consistency you prefer.
I kept my dressing on the thick side, the better to use as a dip for the oven-fried zucchini sticks I was having for dinner with a bit of barbecued boneless beef ribs and cucumber salad. Yummy. And for other ranch dressing use options – how about a nice platter of chef’s salad with asparagus and no-boil potato salad?
*As always, no buttermilk? No problem! Add one tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar to a measuring cup, then fill to one cup with milk. Stir and let rest for ten minutes. Voilà – buttermilk substitute!