Someone here at Folks Gotta Eat is having a birthday today! I think one of the best presents you can give is the gift of food, and this salad dressing is my small offering to a fabulous lady with excellent taste. This salad dressing is sweet, fresh, bright and creamy without any dairy and unlike pesto which browns when it oxidizes it maintains it's bright green colour. I like to serve it over a huge chopped salad with some homemade croutons made with some stale multigrain Celtic bread from St. John's bakery. So happy day dear Melanie, I hope your weekend is filled with lots of delicious food and friends!
1 cup packed fresh basil leaves (about half a big bunch from the grocery store)
1 shallot (roughly chopped)
zest and juice of one lemon
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp honey
a good grind of fresh black pepper
1 tsp sea salt
1/3 cup white wine or champagne vinegar
Pulse the above in a food processor, then with the processor running stream in 1/2 cup of the best quality olive oil you have.
Dressing can keep in the fridge in a jar, eat within 3 days.
Homemade croutons:
Cube up stale bread of your choice. Multi grain is good but something like an olive cilantro loaf is even better. Drizzle with olive oil. Crush two or three cloves of garlic into a fine paste and rub into the bread cubes with the oil. Toast in the oven at 400-450 until golden brown tossing occasionally to make sure they are evenly browned. Let cool, can be kept in an airtight container for a week.
