Here at Our Southern Odyssey we have created a delicious Creamy Italian Dressing that is very tasty. I (Valancie) personally love the taste of Italian Dressing. So when we started creating recipes I knew that I had to create a recipe for an Italian Dressing. I never had a Creamy Italian Dressing before we created ours. During the time we created our Italian Dressing we were experimenting with coconut milk; hence, the coconut milk was added to our Italian Dressing. I really like the addition of the coconut milk. It goes well with all the seasoning, as well as with the extra virgin olive oil and apple cider vinegar in our Creamy Italian Dressing.
So you might be wondering what goes well with our Creamy Italian Dressing. I like to pair our Creamy Italian Dressing with a side salad of Romain lettuce for a beef or buffalo dish, such as spaghetti, goulash or a meatloaf. Basically anything that is a red meat dish. I even like it on my side salad with a steak.
There are so many things that our Creamy Italian Dressing can be drizzled over. It works well as a chicken marinade. It, also, goes great on a chicken coconut wrap with pickles and lettuce. As you can tell our Creamy Italian Dressing is extremely versatile.
The way that we make Italian Dressing here in the United States is considered North American Style. In Italy they use either olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, or salt and pepper. We use a lot more ingredients in our Italian Dressing. I really like our North American Style Italian Dressing.
We make our Italian Dressing creamy by adding just a little bit of coconut milk. The wonderful thing about this recipe is that because we add so many other ingredients to it, the coconut milk just blends into the background. There is no overpowering coconut taste in the Creamy Italian Dressing.
Our Creamy Italian Dressing will keep in the fridge for about a week. The reason that I would not keep it for any longer than a week is because we use coconut milk as an ingredient. Pure coconut milk will only last for two days in the refrigerator after opening. But since we added vinegar it will be good for a week.
We recommend using pure 100% coconut milk that contains no added sugar, gum or carrageenan. Carrageenan is a thickening agent used in different foods. It comes from red seaweed. But carrageenan causes inflammation in the body and that is why we purchase coconut milk that does not contain it as an ingredient. Try to find coconut milk with the fewest ingredients. Coconut milk is high in nutrients, which is another plus for our Creamy Italian Dressing.
Just like having a good coconut milk is important for this recipe, so is having a good quality extra virgin olive oil that is organic. The reason that a high quality extra virgin olive oil is so important is, because, it is your main ingredient in this recipe. A high quality oil has a good solid flavor. Here in the United States I would purchase an extra virgin olive oil from a United States producer. We use Apollo olive oil from California. Their olive oils have an excellent flavor and are packed with antioxidants. Different olives have different flavors; therefore, it makes sense that different extra virgin olive oils will have different flavors. Some olive oils will have a peppery, grassy or fruity taste. We use the Mistral extra virgin olive oil which has the best taste for our Creamy Italian Dressing.
Another important ingredient in our Creamy Italian Dressing is apple cider vinegar. Apple cider vinegar has a strong flavor and a little goes a long way. You will want to make sure that the apple cider vinegar that you are purchasing is made from organic apples. Apples are considered a dirty dozen and ranked number four on the Environmental Working Group’s website. Therefore, it is a good idea to buy apples and anything made from apples, organic. We use Bragg’s Organic Raw Apple Cider Vinegar with the mother. The “Mother” is the live culture that changes the apple cider to vinegar.
Lemon zest provides a clean refreshing taste to our Creamy Italian Dressing that is amazing. It, also, brings out the flavor of the herbs used to make our Creamy Italian Dressing. Lemon zest is made from the external rind of a lemon, the outer skin. By taking a zester, rub the lemon over the zester to remove the bright yellow rind that is showing. Because we are using the outside skin of the lemon it is important to purchase an organic lemon for this recipe. Also, clean the lemon with an organic veggie wash to remove any of the wax that may be on the outside of the lemon. The wax is added to make the lemon look good while sitting in the bin in the grocery store waiting for you to purchase it.
Our Creamy Italian Dressing is a no cook recipe. So you do not have to worry about heating up your home with the stove or oven when making this recipe. Because this recipe is a no cook recipe we classify it as a kid friendly recipe. However, I would not let them use the zester. The zester for the lemon can be a little tricky, not to mention it is sharp. They should, however, enjoy measuring out the dry ingredients.
Another plus for our Creamy Italian Dressing is that you can make the recipe in advance, which we actually encourage. We recommend that you make the Creamy Italian Dressing the night before you plan on using it. That will allow all the flavors to blend together. However, we are all human and sometimes we forget to make things in advance. If you find yourself in this situation don’t panic. Go ahead and make the Creamy Italian Dressing as soon as you remember that you forgot to make it. Place it in the refrigerator for as long as you can. Hopefully, that will be around twenty minutes. The flavors will not be blended really well, but it will still be very tasty. I know this because I forgot to make the Creamy Italian Dressing in advance one time. But everything turned out fine.
Instructions:
There are two ways that you can make this recipe. First you can put all your ingredients, and I mean all the ingredients, into a pint canning jar; place the lid on tight and shake the jar vigorously. Make sure everything is mixed and none of the ingredients are stuck to the bottom of the jar. After all the ingredients are mixed refrigerate until ready to serve. The second way of making this recipe is to add all the ingredients to a mixing bowl and mix the ingredients with a whisk. After everything is mixed well, place it in the fridge and allow it to chill before serving. And that is all it takes to make this delicious recipe. We hope that you enjoy making this recipe as well as eating it.
Creamy Italian Dressing
June 13, 2018
This is a refreshing Creamy Italian Dressing that goes well with just about everything. Our Creamy Italian Dressing is easy to make and delicious to eat.
Persons
8
Notes
What You Will Need:
Measuring Spoons,
Measuring Cup,
Zester,
Pint Canning Jar with tip and ring,
Canning Funnel
(OR)
Measuring Spoons,
Measuring Cup,
Zester,
Mixing Bowl,
Whisk,
Serving Container
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon Garlic Powder
- 1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
- 2 Tablespoons Dried Oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon Dried Thyme
- 1 teaspoon Dried Basil
- 1 Tablespoon Dried Parsley
- 1 teaspoon Himalayan Pink Salt
- 3/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon Stone Ground Brown Mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon Liquid Ginger
- 1/2 cup Coconut Milk
- 1/2 teaspoon Lemon Zest
Instructions
First way of making this recipe:
- Mix all ingredients in the pint canning jar - Using the canning funnel will insure all the ingredients go into the jar.
- Place lid on jar and shake vigorously
- Chill in Refrigerator for at least 20 minutes or overnight to let all the flavors blend together
Second way of making this recipe:
- Mix all the ingredients in a mixing bow, mix with a whisk
- Refrigerate until needed
- Serve
© 2024 This recipe is provided by Our Southern Odyssey
