Lime-Cilantro Dressing from Rick Bayless (on One of the Best Green Salads I Have Ever Made)

You might look at this plate of salad and think "Hmm.. Deb, there's a whole lot going on in there"... and you'd be right. I pretty much tossed together all of the best contents of my fridge and my weekend farmers market trip. But... besides being colorful and pretty, it all works so well together.

 A bed of baby romaine and baby arugula with thinly-sliced pink radishes, creamy avocado, tangy goat cheese, sweet, ripe blueberries and toasted pine nuts. Heaven itself. It is even better dressed with the Lime-Cilantro Dressing that I have been somewhat fixated on since we started cooking along with Rick Bayless at I Heart Cooking Clubs. Lime, cilantro, chile and olive oil--so simple and so good. Since our theme this week is Summer Salads, I knew I needed to break it out and create a salad worthy of it.

This one is definitely worthy of the dressing--one of the best green salads I have ever made. 

Lime-Cilantro Dressing (Aderezo de Limon y Cilantro)

Recipe from Mexican Everyday by Rick Bayless

(Makes 1 1/4 cup)

3/4 cup vegetable oil, olive oil or a mixture of the two 

1/3 cup fresh lime juice 

1/2 teaspoon grated lime zest (colored rind only) 

1/2 cup packed cilantro, thick lower stems broken off 

fresh hot green chile to taste, stemmed and roughly chopped (optional) 

1 scant teaspoon salt 

 Combine all ingredients in a blender jar and blend until smooth. Taste and add more salt if you think it needs it - keeping in mind that dressings should be highly seasoned. Pour into a jar, secure the lid and refrigerate until ready to use. Shake well immediately before use. 

 Notes/Results: The dressing is tangy and herby and quite wonderful. The flavors say summer to me and I love the hit of chile that lingers at the end of each bite. (BTW: I used one small green Hawaiian pepper sans the seeds. These peppers look similar to a serrano but I find them to be much spicier.) I do pity those who don't like the taste of cilantro--it really makes the dressing and it pairs so well with the lime. The dressing was perfect on this salad and I think it would be wonderful with fish or seafood too. I will certainly make it again. This salad was amazing--each ingredient brought something different to the flavor and texture party. My only change would be swapping out the pine nuts for toasted pumpkin seeds. I just like them better and I thought that I had some in the pantry, but I have a tendency to snack on them so they don't last long. ;-) Lucky for me, I have enough ingredients leftover to repeat this salad--I am already craving more.

You can check out the salad creations the other IHCC participants created by going to the post and following the links.

I will also be linking this salad up to Summer Salad Sundays, hosted by Debbie at Easy Natural Food every Sunday throughout the summer season.