I had some gorgonzola left over from the cheese soufflé I made yesterday, so I decided to make a salad dressing out of it. Instead of going for the obvious choice of making a bleu cheese dressing with the gorgonzola, I opted to make a ranch dressing. Ranch salad dressing is a blend of mayonnaise, sour cream, buttermilk and spices. Traditional mayonnaise calls for egg yolks but my 9-year-old- sister-in-law is deathly allergic to eggs so I substitute it with homemade vegenaise made with silken tofu.
This flavorful salad dressing meets everyone's diet restrictions in my home while still being delicious. I hope you will enjoy it as well.
Ingredients
1/2 Tbs superfine sugar
1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 Tbs white wine vinegar
1 Tbs Meyer lemon juice, freshly squeezed
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp Himalayan pink salt
1 tsp onion powder
2 tsp garlic powder
1 Tbs Tabasco sauce
1/2 tsp white peppercorns, freshly ground
1/4 cup grapeseed oil, as needed if you want a thicker consistency
1 cup buttermilk
3 Tbs gorgonzola cheese, freshly crumbled
3/4 cup creme fraiche
Preparation
Combine the tofu, sugar, oils, vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, salt, onion and garlic powders, Tabasco sauce, pepper and grapeseed oil in a food processor. Blend all the ingredients for about 1 minute.
At this point you can stop right there and you'll get a vegenaise. Transfer into a jar, plastic-wrap the container and place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. The fat from the sauce may pick up some other smell from the refrigerator if the container is not sealed properly.
Gather about 1 cup of the vegenaise in the food processor. Add the buttermilk, creme fraiche and 2 tablespoons of gorgonzola cheese. Blend for another 30 seconds. Add the remaining crumbled gorgonzola. Blend for another 5 pulses.
Pour the ranch salad dressing into a plastic squeeze squirt bottle, then drizzle over your favorite salad. I serve mine with a blend of arugula, escarole, frisée, red oak leaves, marinated artichokes and candied walnuts.
Serve immediately.
Bon appétit!
Tips
You can use silken tofu if you cannot find the tubed Korean version. The addition of tofu will bring some protein for a vegetarian diet.
Crème fraîche has a much thicker consistency than regular sour cream. It has a tangy and richer flavor.
Grapeseed oil is excellent for you. It's best used in salad dressings. It contains omega 3 and fatty acids (omega 6) and of course vitamin E. All the good stuff for a healthy meal.
I got Himalayan pink salt from my last trip to Paris. I just found that it is now available in Whole Foods. It's quite different from the regular salt and somehow has a less salty and much flavorful taste. I love it!
I wanted to have a strong gorgonzola flavor. If you want to get a milder blue cheese flavor, lower the amount of cheese and just add 1/2 a tablespoon of chives, dill, parsley and thyme or a teaspoon of the dried same herbs.
See the last post: Gorgonzola Cheese Souffle
Recipes by Type
RSS Feed
About Jackie
Hi! My name is Jacqueline Pham and I am a self-taught home cook based in the San Francisco Bay Area. I am French-Vietnamese, born and raised in Paris, France. I live with my husband Lulu and his family.
My hubby's family is from India, so our home is a melting pot of cultures and cuisines with all the rewards and challenges that you can imagine. There are vegetarians, meat-lovers and allergies of every kind. This site is a way for me to share my love of food and interact with all you Femme Fatales out there putting food on the table for your loved ones everyday.
