Crudités with Green Goddess Dip
This classic dressing, created in San Francisco in 1923 by a chef at Palace Hotel, is enjoying a surge in popularity, and with good reason. It’s so full-flavored and such a beautiful color that it can make even a simple salad of lettuce, tomatoes and green onions something special. This is also a great dressing for a crab salad and makes a wonderful dip for fresh vegetables.
Ingredients
- 3 anchovy fillets (preferably salt-packed)
- Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 cup (8 oz./225 g) mayonnaise (preferably homemade)
- 1/2 cup (4 oz./125 g) nonfat yogurt
- 1 ripe avocado
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 3 Tbs. minced fresh chives
- 1/4 cup (1/2 oz./15 g) minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 1 Tbs. minced fresh tarragon, plus tarragon leaves for garnish
- 1/4 cup (1 oz./30 g) chopped green onions, white and green portions, plus more for garnish
- Crudités for serving
Directions
Rinse the anchovy fillets in cool water; if they have bones, remove them. On a cutting board, use a chef’s knife to mash the anchovies and 1 tsp. salt into a paste.
In a bowl, mix together the anchovy-salt paste, mayonnaise and yogurt and then pour into a blender, scraping the bowl. Peel the avocado, discard the peel and pit, and add the avocado to the blender. Add the garlic, chives, parsley, tarragon and green onions and blend to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Transfer the dip to a serving bowl and garnish with tarragon leaves and chopped green onions. Serve with crudités for dipping. Makes about 2 cups (400 ml).
Adapted from Cowgirl Creamery Cooks, by Sue Conley and Peggy Smith (Chronicle Books, 2013)