Wow, really good caesar dressing!!

[Tropigal]

I just made the recipe on Woody Harrilson's site..it is SOOO good!
I added about a T. of soaked dulse as well. I used the tamarind too.
I tasted it first without & decided to add it. MMM!!!



http://www.voiceyourself.com/09_dakinekitchen/09_easy.php#5

hopethe link works...never tried posting one here before!

[Solace]

THANKS ! I have been on that site but never noticed the recipes. I look forward to trying it.:D

[Ama]

Thanks for the reminder. I saw that last week and wanted to save it but forgot.

What kind of tamarind paste did you use? I have some but it has so much stuff in it: seeds and twig-like things, hard shell type-things etc... I find it extremely hard to get any actual paste. Is your paste the same, if so, do you have a technique as to how to clean the paste? Anyone?

[Faithfullyfit]

Thanks for the link- there are some really great recipes!

[Crisyn]

I also love, love, love his caesar dressing!
What I do with my tamarind is I pull off a few spoonfuls and soak it in a few tbsp of warm water for a few minutes. Then I use the back of a spoon to crush the tamarind and pick out any seeds or really tough-looking pieces, then I just throw the pulp and water into the blender. (If your pulp is really bad, you can also just let the pulp sit in the water for a few hours, give it a little stir, and then just use the water. You'll still get the flavor.)

[Ama]

Thanks Crisyn! I think I'll let it soak for a bit then strain as much as I can. It is pretty bad. There are all sorts of chips and stuff in there. My supermarket sells boxed tamarind, I think they are whole tamarind, not a paste. I just saw it the other day (after I bought the paste from an Asian market) but I don't know if I'd use enough to try it. I guess I'll try this recipe and if I love it I may buy the whole tamarind and see how that works.

[Tropigal]

my paste is in a jar although i have used fresh before.
you have to get rid of everythting except the soft flesh.
the stringy thigs all peel off & you can soak the flesh w/ the seeds & then it scarpes of those pretty well.

[Ama]

my paste is in a jar although i have used fresh before.
you have to get rid of everythting except the soft flesh.
the stringy thigs all peel off & you can soak the flesh w/ the seeds & then it scarpes of those pretty well.

Do you find it easier to use fresh or the paste? The paste I have takes forever to even get a tablespoon (after picking out seeds and stringy things and chips etc..) so I'm wondering if it would be easier just to buy the whole tamarind. (or will it be even more difficult???)

[Ama]

I decided on a salad for lunch and figured I'd give this dressing a shot. I ate 2 salads. YEP... went back and made another bowl. I think this is the BEST dressing I have tried yet. (even licked the blender dry)

My salad(s):
collard greens
red cabbage
bok choy
sprouts
1/2 avocado (salad #1)
1/2 cucumber (salad #2)
last but not least..... the caesar dressing! mmmm mmmmm mmmmmm!

For the tamarind I ended up soaking some in a little bit of warm water. I then took everything out that I could. It still seemed to icky so I strained it through a screen that my juicer came with (not a fine screen, kind of like a screen on your window). I would add a little water to the pulp on top of the screen then I kept mushing the pulp through the screen and would repeat until the pulp looked dryish and I had about 2 T of tamarind juice. Worked pretty well! Thanks Tropigal for the tip.

[Mishka]

Totally clueless here...
What is tamarind?
Would the recipe still be as delicious without it do you gals think?
Thanks...

[Ama]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamarind

You can find it in Asian markets or in Spanish neighborhoods. I live in a Spanish neighborhood and can find whole tamarind in my regular supermarket right now. It adds a tart flavor. If you can't find it you can leave it out, not sure how different the taste would be. Hopefully Tropigal can answer that for you being that she tasted it before adding the tamarind.

[Tropigal]

Ama,the tamarind I use is in a jar....just paste.
a 14.oz. jar of 100% tamarind.....just stick the sppon in & go!

[sweet pepper]

Tropigal, thanks so much for Woody Harrellson's site, and the dressing recipie. I checked it out and I found some really interesting things going on there. Thanks again....