The Green Goddess is in.

Today must have been the second coldest day on record this winter in Chicago. All day long I longed for a big bowl of chili or warm lentil soup, but I knew these dishes would require some shopping. Thankfully, two days ago, in my frenzy to do and eat healthy things (new year and all...) I made some vegan green goddess dressing to toss into a future salad. And tonight was the night!

Unfortunately I have been under the weather but my husband took the lead of making yummy, healthy dinner tonight. I was feeling so blah that I neglected to photograph the masterpiece salads that he made for us, each presented with two large dolloped bundles of my green goddess dressing. The dressing, having sat in a glass container for two days, had thickened and cured it's flavors of garlic, cilantro and cayenne, enough to notice them for an hour or more after the last bites of our delicious dinner. I'm not complaining. I'm just very thankful that we both indulged. Nothing worse than solo garlic breath, am I right?

Art by brookefiger on Etsy.com

Here's a delightful avocado giclee print by artist Brooke Figer on Etsy. You can visit her shop by clicking the linked text.

So despite my lack of photographic evidence of such a delicious dressing, I'm sharing my spin on the dressing known as green goddess. This is a vegan recipe, too. Be green and enjoy! 

Ingredients:

• 1 ripe medium avocado, remove pit and any brown spots inside fruit
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 2 garlic cloves; food processed or finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon white refined sugar (you could substitute agave nector 1/2 tsp.)
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup (cooking) olive oil
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley, remove stems!
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, remove stems!
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil, remove stems!
• 1 stalk celery, finely chopped (about 2 tablespoons)
• 4 green onions, green part only*
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper 

Preparation:

• In a food processor, start with garlic, celery, green onion, lemon and lime juice. Process until all ingredients are finely chopped!
• Add parsley, cilantro and basil, until finely chopped and liquid coated from the juices.
• Add salt, sugar and cayenne pepper, then spoon in your avocado and blend together, slowly adding the 1/4 cup of olive oil. 
• Next slowly add the rest of the extra virgin olive oil and duo of vinegars. Blend until mostly smooth puree forms. 
• Taste and add more salt, sugar and/or pepper; if desired. 

 *Can be made up to 2 days ahead of use. Keep chilled in glass container. Whisk before serving to reblend all ingredients. Water can be added 1 tsp. at a time to thin out mixture.

Special thanks to my dear friend, Stacey R., who shared a version of this recipe that had me begging to recreate it's deliciousness. Not only yummy on salad, the dressing goes great with chilled lentils, an alternative-to-ranch dip for veggies, and even pairs well with flaky whitefish; the vinegar really makes it sing!


Amber's recipe rating (from 1-10). Taste: 7-8 Ease: 6 (lots of steps and ingredients!)
Likeliness of making it again: 9