Learn how to make your own homemade salad dressing with this delicious recipe for Creamy Garlic Basil Dressing.
So I have been drowning my sorrows in food and I’ve probably gained about twenty pounds, I’m sure. This past summer, my goal was to lose close to thirty pounds but with everything that has happened this summer, instead of losing it, I’ve gained it. Our vacation in Florida sure didn’t help. While we stayed at a beautiful condo which included all the amenities, we still rarely cooked but ate out every single day. I’m trying now to eat a little bit healthier and one thing that I love is salads and everything basil. You can also check out our Parmesan Cheddar Basil Bites or our Roasted Tomato Basil Soup.
While we all know that salad dressing adds calories, personally, I prefer to make my very own homemade salad dressing. Today I want to share with you my Creamy Garlic Basil Salad Dressing. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Here is what you’ll need:
Ingredients
2 garlic scapes
1 5.3-ounce cup plain Greek yogurt
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, packed
2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
Juice of one small lemon, approximately 1 teaspoon
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
honey, if needed
Instructions
Snip off the tough ends of the garlic scapes and any brown tops.
Chop the garlic scapes and add to a powerful blender or food processor. Pulse and blend until they are as fine as you can get them.
Add all of the remaining ingredients to the blender and blend until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed.
If you need to thin the dressing out, add water a tablespoon at a time.
Taste and adjust seasonings. You can add more of anything at this point to suit your tastes. If the dressing is tangy, you can add a teaspoons of honey to balance it out. (I added a teaspoon.)
About garlic scapes:
Garlic scapes are the “flowering” stem of the garlic plant that grow straight up and will usually loop around. The tops look like a flower, but they actually never bloom like one. They appear before the garlic bulb matures and are harvested quickly to allow optimal growth for the garlic bulb underground.
You can find them at farmer’s markets and CSAs during late spring and early summer months. The entire thing is edible, but you will want to trim off any tough ends or snip off the tops if they’ve browned.
When eaten raw, they are very crunchy and more pungent in flavor. But when cooked, they become tender and have a flavor similar to roasted garlic. You can use them in any dish that would be complemented by a mild onion and garlic.
If you can’t get your hands on them, a combination of garlic and chives or scallions is a good substitution.
When used raw, they’re delicious in dressings, sauces (like chimichurri), hummus, sprinkled in salads or mixed with tomatoes and herbs for bruschetta.
When cooked, they can be added to soups, eggs, pasta, rice, or stir-fries. We love just tossing them with olive oil and roasting them!
