Green goddess dressing does double duty as both a dip and a green salad dressing, but it has a number of other uses, too. You can marinate chicken or shrimp in green goddess dressing or use it to dress pasta or potato salad. The finished dressing is quite thick, so toss your greens in the dressing rather than pour the dressing on top of your greens.
You can either make a mayonnaise as an optional part of this recipe or simply use a cup of regular mayonnaise. The ingredient list and directions include what is needed to make the mayonnaise.
I decided to include an optional ingredient, sodium benzoate, at a level of 0.1% (one tenth of one percent) by weight of the salad dressing, as a preservative, to increase the shelf life of this dressing to perhaps six months when it is kept in a tightly sealed bottle or jar in the refrigerator.
Note that sodium benzoate is effective only in an acidic medium with an optimal pH of around 4.5, and the ingredients in this dressing achieve that close enough. I weighed the salad dressing exactly to determine how much concentrated sodium benzoate solution to use. It came in at 13 1/2 ounces by weight and one pint by volume. Thus, I used 1/2 teaspoon of the Koldkiss® concentrated sodium benzoate solution. Note that we don't have to be exact in that measurement, as commercially, sodium benzoate use varies from 0.05% in some carbonated soft drinks to 0.2% in other foods.
If you do not use any sodium benzoate then keep the dressing refrigerated in a sealed bottle or jar and use it within two weeks. Note also that commercial mayonnaise already has a preservative (EDTA) so what we add in sodium benzoate is incremental but important since we are also using yogurt or sour cream in the mixture, and neither of those products contains any preservative.
Ingredients: (makes one pint)
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard (optional)
2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice (optional)
1 cup of extra virgin olive oil (optional)
1 cup of fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
3 tablespoons of diced fresh chives (or the green tops of four scallions)
2 tablespoons of fresh tarragon leaves
4 anchovies, chopped fine
1 clove of garlic, diced
3/4 cup of plain Greek yogurt or regular sour cream
Kosher salt to taste (optional)
1/2 teaspoon of Koldkiss® concentrated sodium benzoate solution (optional)
Directions:
Make the mayonnaise or simply put one cup of regular mayonnaise into the blender: If you are using regular mayonnaise you still also add the egg yolk to the mayonnaise.
Otherwise, to make your own mayonnaise, just pulse the egg yolk, Dijon mustard, and lemon juice in a blender with a few quick pulses, and then turn the blender on and drizzle in the oil in a thin, steady stream. Continue to blend until the mixture is light in color and thick.
Optionally add 1/2 teaspoon of the Koldkiss® concentrated sodium benzoate solution to the mayonnaise.
Blend in the chopped anchovies, the herbs and the diced garlic: Stop the blender and scrape down the sides. Add the parsley, chives, tarragon, anchovies, and garlic. Blend until smooth and vibrant green, about two minutes.
Whisk the dressing gently into the yogurt: Place the Greek yogurt or sour cream into a two quart bowl. Add the herbed/seasoned mayonnaise mixture gradually and whisk gently to combine.
Taste and season: Taste the dressing for seasoning. The anchovies typically make it salty enough, but you can add additional salt if desired.
Zowie! It tastes great! Just imagine the variety of ways you can use the dressing and you will smile.