green goddess avocado dressing...

Ever since I was out in Vancouver visiting baby sister Marnie last Fall, I’ve been experimenting with and perfecting green goddess salad dressing. We had gone to Marcello’s, my favourite Italian restaurant over on Commercial Drive – we love their pasta and it comes with a salad – their version of the Italian chopped salad and I remembered it from years before – we asked the server what it was and were told it was their ‘house green goddess’ but that’s all they would say. Marnie texted her Italian girlfriend, who was impressed that we were dining at Marcello’s, and asked her what was in green goddess. After checking with her mom (the real cook in the family), she answered back, ‘garlic, herbs, mayo, anchovies…’. Thus, began my quest. Surprising to me, Marnie, who is an extremely picky eater, okayed the anchovies and the garlic! After Googling for the recipe, I tried it out a couple of times and we both thought it was suitable, but I had more experimenting to do to get it right.
I do find garlic troubling, so I very rarely use it and most often, I substitute shallots for the garlic in someone else’s recipe. I have tried real, canned anchovies and the anchovy paste – can’t really tell the difference in the finished product so use what is most convenient – the paste, of course – you’ll find it in a refrigerated section of the grocery store – on the box, it says, ‘refrigerate after opening’ so I don’t think it actually needs refrigerating in the store, but the canned anchovies also say ‘keep refrigerated’ but don’t specify the ‘after opening’ – I wonder if it’s a case of mis-translation or is that a debate for another day? I have seen canned anchovies in Italian food markets sold without refrigeration.
I also dislike mayonnaise – I was brought up on Miracle Whip, like the taste and, when you read the labels and compare, calorie wise, I’m sticking with MW.
You sort of need a blender or food processor for this especially is using the anchovies to get them broken down and I first made this in my Magic Bullet, thinking I could store it conveniently in the two-cup container but I found it tedious to blend as you had to take it off, unscrew the blades, scrape, stir and mix, way too many times. My next attempt was in my 10-yr. old Oster blender, a good piece of equipment that is stored in the bottom of my little portable kitchen island – too much trouble to take out so don’t often use. It was virtually the same as the magic bullet – too much scraping and stirring and then I had to find a suitable storage container and clean up! Next time, I used my hand-held stick blender in a 6 C tall pitcher - this was the perfect tool for the job! and the easiest to clean!
After many batches and trials, here’s my last version:

Green Goddess Avocado Dressing

1 ripe avocado, rough diced
1 shallot, peeled and cut in half
1/2 C Greek yogurt (2% is what I use)
1/2 C Miracle Whip
6 anchovy fillets, drained and patted dry (or 1 Tbsp anchovy paste)
juice of 1 medium lemon (1/4 C)
Put all the above in tall container. buzz with stick blender until mixed well.
Flat leaf parsley, tarragon, thyme, 1/2 C, chopped (measure after chopping by hand). Add to blended mixture and stir to incorporate. I like to leave this with the herbs un-blitzed. (No salt needed as the anchovies do the trick!)
Store in 2C preserve jar with snug lid – in fridge for a week or so – it stays thick, creamy, fresh and tasty, and makes a great dip for a veggie tray as well as a salad dressing!
It goes a long way in a salad - don't over-dress!