Creamy Artichoke Dressing

“Creamy Artichoke Dressing”, page 101, is versatile, zesty, and tangy, and makes a great topping for crispy lettuce salads, pasta salad, or even steamed vegetables. Although the recipe calls for a jar of undrained marinated artichoke hearts, meaning packed in oil, this worked out perfectly well using a can of water packed artichoke hearts instead. My first choice was frozen artichokes, which are superior in flavor to the canned, and are also oil-free, but I couldn’t find them the day I shopped for this recipe. The remaining ingredients are garlic, fresh lemon juice, salt, and cayenne, plus additional oil, which I omitted, using water instead. Everything goes in the blender and is processed until smooth and creamy, adding the water 2 tablespoons at a time until the dressing reaches the desired consistency. Because the artichokes add a lot of bulk, there really is no need to add any thickening agent, such as guar gum, if you leave out the oil. In fact, you may find you actually need to thin it down.

This is an easy dressing to make, whips up in a flash, and one I will likely make again. I can imagine it as a dipping sauce for oven fries, and as a topping for grilled tofu, tempeh, or seitan.

Keeping it “McDougall Friendly” check list:

• Replace the ¼ cup of olive oil with water, 2 tablespoons at a time, until desired consistency is reached.