Romaine Hearts with Green Goddess Dressing

Salad...gasp!

I know, I know, I'm always going around running my mouth about how much I hate salad. But the truth is, I love everything that goes into salad, I just don't like them all hanging out together. Furthermore, most restaurant salad is far less than healthful, made with creepy, not-very-fresh veggies with wilty beige edges.

When I came across a Green Goddess dressing recipe in Bon Appetit, I thought it could be the bridge that would allow me to cross over the troubled waters of my salad phobia. And I was right! There is nothing that's not delicious about Green Goddess dressing. I looked up several versions online (there are about 4,334,223,556,777,345 G.G. recipes on the web), and finally just decided to come up with my own.



The recipes vary from indulgently creamy to lighter, and I tried to keep mine on the light side without compromising taste. I also allowed myself to include only my favorite salad ingredients: lettuce, tomato, and egg (which, incidentally, are also my favorite burger toppings).

ROMAINE HEARTS WITH GREEN GODDESS DRESSING AND ROASTED TOMATOES

GREEN GODDESS DRESSING

1 ripe avocado, seed and flesh removed, chunked
juice of 1/2 a lemon
2-ish T. mayo
glug olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. dijon mustard
1/4 c. lowfat milk
dill, chopped
sage, chopped
dried tarragon leaves
salt and pepper
red pepper flakes
2-3 T. capers, drained (optional)

SALAD

1/2 romaine heart
1/2 c. grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 tsp. olive oil
salt and pepper
2 eggs, boiled and cut in half
1 slice whole grain bread, in chunks (optional)

STEP ONE:

Preheat oven to 375. Toss tomatoes in olive oil and salt and pepper. Roast 15-20 minutes, until skins are wrinkly. Set aside and keep warm.

STEP TWO:

Combine all salad dressing ingredients in a large bowl. Cream together using an immersion blender (you could also make it in a blender or food processor). If you like it a little thinner, add some more milk.



STEP THREE:

Place lettuce on a plate. Top with some Green Goddess dressing. Place tomatoes and bread chunks on top. Garnish with egg halves. Enjoy!

This was a great light dinner that didn't leave me hungry. The Green Goddess dressing was fresh, garlicky, creamy, and pleasantly acidic all at once. The Romaine was cool and crisp, which was a nice complement to the warm roasted tomatoes, and the eggs gave it a nice kick of protein.



If this recipe can make even ME like salad, you should definitely give it a try.

Thanks for reading! More soon...