Creamy Paleo Caesar Salad Dressing

http://www.cavemanbistro.com/2012/08/08/creamy-paleo-caesar-salad-dressing/

 

August 8, 2012 6 Comments


Sauces seem to confound people. Especially after they embrace a Paleo lifestyle. Is it clean? How do I make it Paleo? Does anyone have an easy recipe for mayo made with bacon fat?
To make a sauce or dressing Paleo, there are a lot of simple substitutions you can make like switching olive oil for vegetable oil, or simply removing the sugar as an ingredient.
When I first switched to Paleo, I spent a lot of time searching out recipes for a decent Caesar salad dressing recipe. I tried a lot of them, including ones that had me making homemade mayonnaise from olive oil, and some that had mayo made from bacon fat, and some that had me cooking coddled eggs by the dozen. Way too complicated! “We need dinner now!” screamed my family. So my search for a clean version that was simple enough to prepare on a weeknight continued.
Salad dressings are simple emulsifications, and creamy dressings are closer to what are known as permanent emulsifications. For more information on how to bind dissimilar ingredients together please see this article “Emulsion” by Danilo Alfaro in the Culinary Arts section of About.com.
With this creamy dressing recipe, we are essentially making the mayonnaise at the same time we are making the rest of the dressing, right in the blender. What’s more, is that since the dressing doesn’t contain eggs, leftovers will keep for weeks in the refrigerator, so double or triple your batch to always have some on hand. Also, since we are using Olive Oil as an ingredient, when leftovers are kept in the fridge, the oil solidifies, and prevents the emulsification from separating, meaning it’s just as creamy two weeks later, as it was the day you made it.
This simple recipe will take less than two minutes to prepare once you have the ingredients in front of you. And there is very little prep other than squeezing some fresh lemon juice. Make a batch for some salad, or marinate some chicken in some for a tasty sauté. Enjoy!
Ingredients: (Yield aprox 10oz.)
- Juice of 2 small lemons (aprox 1/2 cup)
- 6 whole garlic cloves
- 2TBS Dijon mustard
- 1 small tin of anchovy fillets in olive oil (2oz.)
- Fresh ground black pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Procedure:
Combine lemon juice, garlic, mustard, anchovies(and the oil they came in!) and pepper in a blender. Cover blender and pulse blender to roughly combine all ingredients. When combined, blend on low until smooth (aprox 20 seconds.) Scrape down sides of blender to make sure everything is incorporated. Taste and adjust to your preference with a bit more lemon juice, mustard, salt or pepper. Once satisfied with flavor proceed to next step.
With blender running on low speed setting, drizzle olive oil in until dressing is extended and well combined (aprox 30 seconds.) Use immediately or refrigerate in a sealed container to have on hand.