(Don't judge..like I did! lol My kid bro lent this to me..
and it's rather good!~R~)
OK... so it isn't lost on me that one day I am posting a new soup recipe and then the next day I'm posting two dressing recipes. lol. But in my defence I do have a salad and a soup for lunch each week day. lol.
My Love came home last night with a large quantity of Basil which was a bargain at 42p. However we had had pesto twice in the last two days, once in our paninis during our picnic and the leftover pesto used with some wholemeal pasta for our evening meal yesterday. So I was a little pestoed out! But it needed using up very quickly as it was still lush but you could tell it wouldn't be for much longer. As I needed a dressing for my salads and a soup for the rest of the week, I started cruising the foodie sites online for inspiration.
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| On the left ~ Lemon Basil Dressing....on the right Greek Basil Dressing |
Lemon Basil Dressing Makes 1-2 servings
(Recipe from www.veggiebelly.com)
1 1/2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp lemon zest
salt and black pepper to season
10 basil leaves, finely sliced
In a blender or by hand blend the oil, lemon juice and zest and the salt and black pepper until it's a lovely lemon colour. Store in an airtight container until ready to serve. Add the basil leaves into the lemon dressing just before serving or it will go black.
Serve.
The Greek Basil Dressing I found posted on www.food.com and had no name attached to it so I can't give the credit where it's due...and I don't like that! Anyway....the recipe grabbed my attention because it had some of my favourite ingredients listed..olives, balsamic, lemon and garlic. So once again, I had all of the ingredients and thought.."What the hell! Let's have a dressings morning!" lol. As you do...ahem. lol. I didn't realise though, that I was out of shallots until after I had started to throw things in the blender but I did have very small, juicy red onion so I trimmed that and used half of it as a substitute. I loved this dressing with it's many different layers of flavour and it was creamy but not thick...delicious.
Greek Basil Dressing Makes 1 cup
(Recipe found on www.food.com)
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 shallot, cut into thirds (or half of 1 very small red onion)
6 olives, pitted ( I used black olives ~R~)
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp lemon zest
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 small tomato, chopped
3 tbsp fresh basil
1/4 tsp fresh black pepper
1/4 cup/4 tbsp olive oil
salt to season to taste
In a blender at all the ingredients except the oil and salt. Blend until the mixture is smooth. Then gradually add the oil until it's very well combined and on the last pulse add your salt.
Store in the fridge until ready to serve. If it's thickened up to much add water until desired consistency is reached.
Enjoy!
I liked both of these dressings and on a hot day (yeah right! lol) I would happily use the Lemon Basil dressing for it's freshness and zing. But I have sensitive teeth and I felt the lemon juice go to work half way through my salad. Not good but that's a personal observation. I like my teeth enamel where it is....lol. I would happily have the Greek Basil Dressing often as its savouriness and depth of flavours was very enjoyable with the salad.
I hope you give them a try?
Happy zesting...
~R~
