This salad dressing combines tangy lemon and creamy walnuts for a flavor that will bring out the best in mixed greens, pasta or grains!
Salad season will soon be here. That probably sounds a little strange coming from someone who now lives in a place that most people would consider spring and summer year round.
I always thought that my salad cravings were controlled by the seasons, but I’ve learned that this is not the case. Apparently they are controlled by the months on the calendar. Despite sunshine and vegetables being plentiful all the time, I still really only want salads April through August.
It’s the vegetables, really. There are still very distinct seasons in the Bay Area so I get as excited as I used to in Kentucky when I start seeing new radishes, greens, carrots and herbs at the farmers markets. Once all those beautiful colors start showing up, I am fully ready to overdose on salads for several months.
The fun thing about being here is that citrus season overlaps with the start of my salad season. I may have mentioned that our lemon tree in the backyard is loaded right now. I want to use them all, but all the ideas I get are also full of sugar.
I love dessert, as you know, but I simply do not need to keep a constant supply of lemon curd, lemon bars, lemon jam and lemon cake within easy reach. So this time, I decided to go with salad dressing.
I love how creamy ground walnuts get when I add them to my pesto, so I used them for that purpose in the dressing. The finer they are ground with the other ingredients, the creamier it gets. The little bits also add some texture, which I love.
The sweetness of the walnuts balances the tart lemon, but I will say this dressing still has plenty of tang. You can experiment with adding a little more sugar if you prefer it a bit sweeter.
When I made this dressing, I decided to simply feature the dressing itself and not the dressing with a salad. That’s because it will work on so many things. I can picture over a fresh green salad, with a cold grain or pasta salad, or as finishing touch on roasted cauliflower or fresh green peas. There are so many seasonal options out there for experimenting.
- 1/4 cup raw chopped walnuts
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1/4 teaspoon sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon fine ground sea salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
- Juice of two lemons
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- Place the walnuts, garlic, cheese, chives, zest, sugar, salt and pepper in a small food processor. Pulse 2 to 3 times to chop and combine the ingredients.
- Add the lemon juice and olive oil. Pulse in 15 second intervals, until the walnuts are ground fine and the dressing is creamy. Serve over your favorite salad.
looks great
Thanks, Rebecca! Hope you are doing well!
The season may not be ready for salads, but my body sure is! I’m craving them nonstop. Definitely will be making up a big batch of this dressing and using it through the week!
I can imagine you all are craving just about everything related to spring and summer! 🙂
Your photos are absolutely beautiful! I, like you, crave salads from April to August, which is part of the reason I just planted my cutting garden! I am also super jealous that you still have a lemon tree loaded with fruit! We have exactly one lemon left! I got so desperate that I went to a stranger’s house to beg for lemons from their tree (sadly they either weren’t home or didn’t want to answer the door to a stranger)! I am really excited to make your dressing for my next salad!
Thanks, Tracey! I’ve been very tempted to hit up our neighbors for some of their fruit, too! It seems like so many people never pick any of it around here.