Creamy Garlic Dressing

WARNING: this recipe is not for the faint of heart.

It’s also not for the faint of smell, or for anyone with a fear of temporary bad breath.  But I suppose it is the right thing for those who are afraid of vampires and other creatures of the night.

 

But regardless of what you might be afraid of, this recipe is phenomenal because it uses an obscene amount of garlic.  And for this girl, garlic makes the world go ’round.

 

I know I’ve said that about bacon, butter, cheese, and probably pasta…but I really mean it about garlic.  Really, I mean it this time.

I remember every summer we would drive out to California from Texas to visit my grandparents, and every year my Papa would makes loads and loads of his famous creamy garlic dressing.  Now, to be completely honest, I don’t know if that’s a recipe I’ll ever share on the blog; it’s kind of a family secret.  BUT this creamy garlic dressing is fabulous for pasta salads, regular salads, or farro-and-broccoli salads (just, you know, as an example).

 

As a side note, if you don’t love spicy garlic, I would recommend roasting both bulb of garlic.  If you like the spiciness, I recommend leaving 1/2 to 1 bulb raw.  Or, if you’re really in a spicy-garlic-killing-vampires mood, you can leave both of them raw.  But for the sake of those who love being close to you, I’d say follow the recipe and everyone should be happy.

CREAMY GARLIC DRESSING

• 2 bulbs garlic
• 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp olive oil, divided
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper

Take one bulb of garlic and cut off the top 1/3 of the bulb, exposing the tops of all of the cloves.  Place on a piece of foil and drizzle with 2 Tbsp of olive oil.  Wrap loosely in the foil, place on a baking sheet, and place in a cold oven.  Turn oven on to 300 and leave garlic in there for a total of 30 minutes (including the cold oven time).  Let cool for a bit until it’s cold enough to handle.  Squeeze all of the cloves out of the bulb into a small food processor.  Now take the cloves from the other bulb and remove the outer layer of skin.  Chop off the ends and add into the food processor.  Add the remaining olive oil, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.  Put the lid on and process until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute.  If you need more liquid, add a small amount of lemon juice and a small amount of olive oil.  Once dressing is creamy, feel free to serve it over whatever you like (I cooked some farro and roasted some broccoli and then mixed it all together).  Enjoy!

Like I said, tons of garlic.  Heaps of it.  And although your significant other might not thank me for it, I know you sure will 😉