Ideas for creamy avo dressing?

[bellamausi]

I really, really want to make an avocado dressing, but I can't seem to get the taste right. I'm fresh out of ideas.....

So I'm trying to see, if you guys have made one, and what ingredients you used, so I can get some ideas to make one I like! :)

[RawTruth]

Which recipes have you tried? It'll help to know before I suggest some.

[sachis2112]

I made one tonight that went over very well. One small avo, juice from one lemon, 1/4 cup olive oil, pinch of sea salt, healthy shakes of pepper, a tablespoon of braggs, 1/2 tablespoon fresh tarragon, teaspoon fresh oregano, teaspoon fresh rosemary. I put it in my bullet and made it all smooth and creamy (until all the herbs are totally minced) and dumped it over a VERY large spinach salad w/one cup of alfalfa sprouts and a handful of sunflower sprouts and quartered and sliced cuke. Was shared by 3 people and had us all very stuffed!

[rawpriestess]

Well, I don't care for the sliminess of avocado, but I can give you a generic dressing, and I will just sub the oil for the avocado.

1 cup water
1/2 cup avocado, or other oil
1/2 cup sweetener, ie dates, raisins, ripe banana, whatever you like
1 tsp. sea salt
1 bunch cilantro or other herb
1/2 cup almonds (soaked) or other nut
1/2 cup lime juice (much better than lemon) or other flavoring
1 clove garlic, or 1 tsp spice, such as mustard powder, or hot peppers

Anyway, you can do pretty much any dressing with this ratio, so have fun, and let us know what you came up with.

You might want to try it in 1/2 amount, of even 1/4 and try different spices, sweeteners herbs etc.

[brandilynn]

I put sundried olives, braggs marinated cucs and red onions in my processor and ground them fine.

I then squeezed a lime, shook a bit of Trocomere (i found near the herbamere, slight different taste) and mashed the avo, and put the above mix in there.

Then I take just 2 tbsp of that and put in big bunch fo greens, squeeze a lime in and mash it all up with my hands, so the dressing is all over the greens. I also did that last night and put some of the fresh marinara sauce over that too..

YUM!

[bellamausi]

Which recipes have you tried? It'll help to know before I suggest some.

Hi RawTruth,

I haven't tried anybodies recipe, just put avocado, lemon juice, some italian herbs (dried) and sea salt together. But it just tasted to lemony for me, even though I didn't put too much lemon in it. I think maybe rawpriestess has a good recommendation, when she puts a sweetener in hers, maybe that was missing from my dressing.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions, I will keep experimenting. :rolleyes:

[carolg]

Bella
I don't use sweetner in mind. I hardly use salt, if any, either:
blend: avocado, onion, garlic, maybe celery, spices..enjoy.
carol

[RawTruth]

A couple of thoughts & comments --

Sorry, but I have to disagree with just substituting avocado for the oil in RawPriestess' generic dressing recipe. The nuts, the large amount of water, and so much sweetener obscure the avocado taste, and its special taste is the whole point of making the dressing. (Btw, if you're using Haas avocadoes, they shouldn't be "slimy.")

Bellamausi - there's a good one in Alissa's book, but I lent out my copy, so I don't have that one to refer to. If you don't have her book yourself, I strongly recommend it to you.

If you're putting lemon in, sounds like you're trying to get it to taste like guacamole. If so, you can just cut back on the lemon and add some chopped cilantro and tomatoes. But, I don't know how creamy it'll be

The one posted here by sachis2112 sounds like a winner.

Here are three recipes for you that seem to be different from each other. (I have not tried any of them - I just make mine as I go and they're different every time.)

From Elysa Markowitz's book Warming Up to Living Foods:

Green Goddess Dressing

Yield: 1 to 1-1/2 cups
15 minutes to prepare

1 avocado
2 green onions
1/2 red bell pepper
1/4 - 1/2 C. fresh lemon juice
Dule or kelp, to taste
1/2 - 1 t. cumin
1/2 C. purified water

In a blender, process all ingredients, adjusting the amounts of lemon juice, dulse or kelp, and cumin to taste. Thin to the desired consistency with additional water.


From Jordan Maerin's Raw Foods for Busy People:

Avocado Dressing

2 ripe avocadoes
3 - 4 T. lemon juice
1 clove garlic
1 medium cucumber, peeled
1/4 C. chopped scallions OR red onion
1 T. Italian seasoning OR dried dill

Blend all ingredients together, adding water to desired consistency.

From http://www.ou.org/shabbat/recipes/kitavo62.htm is this one:

CREAMY AVOCADO DRESSING (pareve)
1 ripe avocado, peeled and seeded
1/4 cup cider vinegar (or lime juice or lemon juice)
1 medium sized Jalapeno Chile, stemmed (seed it if you can't handle the heat!)
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1 teaspoon honey (I would substitute agave nectar)
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt (use sea salt or kelp or dulse)
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper (I would omit this)
1/2 cup oil

In a blender combine the avocado, vinegar, garlic, honey, oregano, cumin, salt and pepper. Pulse until everything is coarsely chopped. Slowly add 1/2 C of oil while the motor is running. Continue to add oil until the taste is to your liking. Add more salt and pepper to taste. Makes approx. 1 1/4 cup. This recipe can be doubled or tripled.

[Sharon in Colorado]

You may want to try using orange instead of lemon in the dressing next time. I also didn't care for a recipe with avos and lemons.

Also guacamole is a good salad dressing, just add extra lime/orange to make it a bit thinner.

[bellamausi]

You may want to try using orange instead of lemon in the dressing next time. I also didn't care for a recipe with avos and lemons.

Also guacamole is a good salad dressing, just add extra lime/orange to make it a bit thinner.


Hmmmm ...... the orange instead of lemon sounds interesting! Thanks! ;)


RawTruth ..... thanks so, so much for all those recipes ..... they all sound great! I've got to be able to put one together that suits my tastebuds now! And yes, I do have Alissa's book, but I think I made it once, will have to go check. :)

[JustusGSD]

How long will these dressing keep in the refrig?? I'm the only one eating raw and I only eat one salad a day. I don't use a lot of dressing, so I'm worried it will get yucky before I can eat it. :)

Thanks
Sarah

[asil]

Yumm.... Avocados are the food of my people :). Among traditional Mexican and Mexican-American families, avos are the first solid food babies are given. We use avos more than we use butter.

So....now that I've established my credentials ;). I'd like to suggest that for the best flavor and texture, do *not* blend avos -- it gives them a slimy texture. Just sqeeze from halves, add seasonings, lightly mash with hands or fork, toss in salad to lightly coat veggies. You should still end up with some discrete chunks. The more gently you treat the avos, the better they'll taste. Also, many people eat their avos too ripe. There should be no brown whatsoever -- the whole thing should be bright green and uniformly soft. Any dullness indicates over-ripeness and hence, the beginnings of rancidity (and sliminess). Any hardness means it's not ripe yet, so eat that one tomorrow.

We also don't over-season our avos -- the taste mostly stands on it's own. I like a dash of sea salt, a squeeze of lime, cilantro, and a bit of fresh chili. Green onions or chopped tomato are OK too.

Provecho!

Incidentally, in most of Latin America and Spain, you tell the grocer that you want your avos "para hoy" or "para manana" (for today or for tomorrow), and he hands you the perfect ones. They don't let just anyone squeeze and mis-handle those tasty things!

[RawTruth]

But, Asil, if you try to eat Haas when they're bright green, they're rock hard. Are you referring to Fuerte? And/or some other types? Haas also never get slimy when blended. The vast majority of avocadoes available to buy in Southern Californian markets are Haas, though, and the dark, pebbly skin along with some "give" to the touch is evidence that it's ripe.

Your suggestions are absolutely great -- for guacamole and sauces. For Green Goddess dressing and other "creamy" avocado dressings, though, the avocado does need to be un-chunky. Otherwise, it's not creamy, of course.

[RawTruth]

How long will these dressing keep in the refrig?? I'm the only one eating raw and I only eat one salad a day. I don't use a lot of dressing, so I'm worried it will get yucky before I can eat it.

Eat another salad each day -- or use the dressing on other foods, too
Make less!! Seriously. That'd be the easiest thing.

[bellamausi]

But, Asil, if you try to eat Haas when they're bright green, they're rock hard. Are you referring to Fuerte? And/or some other types? .

I think she meant on the inside. When avos get spots of brown inside, they are overripe and get a funny taste, I've noticed.
:)

[RawTruth]

Oh, I see. I just reread the post. It never occurred to me that anyone would eat them when they're were brownish inside -- ooooh, yuck -- with those strings. Bleech. Thanks for helping clarify it for me, Bellamausi. Silly me.

[asil]

Oh, I see. I just reread the post. It never occurred to me that anyone would eat them when they're were brownish inside -- ooooh, yuck -- with those strings. Bleech. Thanks for helping clarify it for me, Bellamausi. Silly me.

Yep, that's what I meant. A little confusing I guess. I've never been served an avocado with strings but I have definitely been served guaca at restaurants and at peoples' houses that was made with avos that were definitely on the over-ripe side. Not tasty!

And sure, lots of people on these boards do seem to like blended avo dressing. Not my cup of tea though, and I was just suggesting that if a recipe wasn't to someone's taste, they might also not care for the texture of blended avos. But if you like it, enjoy!