The Cookbook Challenge | Anchovy-Lemon Dressing
Hey, remember that time I made you all vote on which cookbook I should use for my self-induced cookbook challenge? You know the one, that thing where I'm going to cook my way through someone's (Gwyneth Paltrow's) cookbook à la Julie & Julia, except the cookbooks I picked aren't all full French courses and some even have drinks and sauces as individual recipes? Well, the time has come for the first recipe. And, surprise, surprise, it's a sauce!
Now before you totally start in on me, just know that the real first recipe is for Sweet Potato & Five-Spice Muffins, which tasted delicious but had something missing in the "holding together and not crumbling in the palm of your hand" department - let's call it a minor baking snafu. That recipe will either be posted next week or may be redone with added pictures of what the finished product is meant to look like...
Until then, you get this dressing. Hey, a girl's gotta start somewhere!
Click through for the full instructions and more illustrative snapshots...
First, you need your ingredients. Duh. Luckily for you, this is the least involved dressing I've ever made!
Ingredients (makes about 1 cup dressing that lasts a week in the fridge) 3/4 cup olive oil 5 tablespoons lemon juice (or the juice of 2 big lemons) 8 anchovies in olive oil (my tin had 9-10 so I used 'em all!) sea salt freshly cracked pepper
Tools mini food processor or blender
Now, a note about this "tools" section. I do not have a fully stocked kitchen, but my roommates and I have pulled together a fair amount of kitchen supplies between the three of us, and one of these little gifts to our palettes is Leslie's mini food processor. It is a gem, a darling, a miracle in a teeny plastic box. I highly suggest that if you don't have one, you shell out the $25 Amazon is asking for this one (the model we have!), or you can even upgrade a notch or two for this one. I'm not involved with Cuisinart or the mini food processor world at all, I just think it's a great tool many forget about or assume is too pricey.
(But hey, if you know how I can become a Cuisinart spokeswoman, by all means, let me know!)
On to the mixing!
Step 1: Juice your lemons and open your anchovies, removing them from the tin with a fork so as not to put the excess oil in the blender.
Blend those up really well. Pulse those puppies!
Step 2: Add your olive oil. If you have a blender where you can add it through the top while blending, then fab - I added 1/4 at a time in between pulses until all 3/4 cup was mixed.
Step 3: Add your sea salt and pepper. The bigger and crunchier the flakes, the better!
Step 4: Blend and store in a jar or other airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
This dressing is legitimately the nectar of the gods. They may be the ultra hippie gods of kale and sunlight, but they are gods nonetheless! I wanted to take a bath in this sauce, to put it on avocados and ice cream and crostini and slices of pear. Wedges of brie topped with this sauce, raspberry puree over white fish with this sauce... Mmmm. The list goes on and on.
...I settled for leftover white beans and quinoa that I had in my fridge, and it was still delicious!
Two nights ago, I drizzled it over brown rice, salmon, and steamed green beans - the result was a tangy lemon sauce that tasted heartier than just normal lemon juice.
Last night I improvised again and used the remainder of the dressing for pasta sauce, mixed with toasted walnuts in the blender yet again and topped with parmesan cheese. It was a lemony, nutty pasta - delicious!
So, clearly, the possibilities are endless. You're welcome.
What would you put this on?