Healthy Homemade Caesar Dressing

Monhegan Wellness retreats always include a healthy lunch and/or a cooking component. Participants often ask for my recipes to make at home. Last weekend I lead a Chi Hiking and Yoga retreat and served up Mediterranean Spiced Lentils with Sesame Seed Spring Mix Salad lightly tossed in Caesar dressing, with Creamy Whipped Chia Pudding for dessert. The meal was a huge hit. The participants especially liked the pudding and the Caesar dressing.

So, by popular demand, here it is.

Caesar Dressing

1 Tbsp. minced garlic (I love buying the tubes of fresh organic garlic, saves time and clean up is so easy)

1 Tbsp. minced anchovies or 5 filets minced

1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

finely grated rind of one lemon

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup good quality olive oil

1 Tbsp. Dijon or other spicy mustard

S&P to taste

Put all ingredients in a blender and blend on high for a few seconds until well incorporated.

Instead of a classic Caesar salad of romaine lettuce and croutons, I like to add a little variety and nutrition to my salad.

Here are a few ideas:

Toasted nuts or seeds to replace the croutons
Baked kale chips for crunch
Spring mix tossed with iceberg lettuce to get that crunchy, watery lettuce taste and feel with more nutrition

In addition to salad dressing, you can use this for:

Marinating chicken
Top roasted carrots
Dress steamed asparagus or green beans
Dip raw vegetables like cucumber, tomato and carrot