By Pamela Walker, writer and local farm and food activist (www.GrowingGoodThingsToEat.com)
I confess that I’m lazy when it comes to making salad dressings, even a simple one. I have good intentions, and sometimes I carry through on them, but not as often as I like. To compensate for my laziness, I like a multi-purpose dressing that I can make in advance, store in the refrigerator, and pull out not just for a green salad but for vegetables, too, whether steamed, oven-roasted, or raw.
This recipe by chef Gabrielle Hamilton, which appeared about a month ago in the New York Times, gives me the versatility and convenience I like, not to mention nice texture and robust yet adaptable flavor. As Hamilton explains, “The high ratio of potent raw garlic to bright lemon juice to salty anchovy is very much on purpose — once you spoon the dressing over cold braised celery hearts or fennel heads or steamed cauliflower or leafy mustard greens, the ferocity is tamed. If it didn’t start so high and assertive, it would become docile rather than perfectly obedient.”
Anchovy Salad Dressing
Yield 3 cups
Time 10 minutes
Ingredients:
- 4 lemons, juiced and strained (about 3/4 cup)
- 20 oil-packed anchovy fillets (from one 3.5-ounce jar), drained and minced
- 9 fresh, sticky, assertive garlic cloves, finely grated using a Microplane
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more if desired
- 1 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
- 2 cups extra-virgin olive oil
- Freshly ground black pepper
Preparation:
- Place lemon juice, anchovies, garlic, kosher salt and red-pepper flakes in a medium bowl.
- Stir (don’t whisk) in the olive oil.
- Season to taste with salt and several good grinds on the pepper mill for a bright, bracing dressing.
- Cover, and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.