Beautiful spring and summer flavors. I am a huge fan of all-green salads and made-from-scratch dressings.
This herbed dressing will put all your ideas about buttermilk ranch dressings made from packets of spices (and all the “other ingredients”) to rest. No sweet weirdness from the gums, MSG, and other preservatives in prepared dressings or the envelopes of ready-to-mix dressing of our adolescence. As a young teen, I mixed up more than my share of Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing and I am grateful to appreciate a fresh version now.
You do need a generous hand with the black pepper and a bit of salt to brighten the dressing, but it will be worth the extra few minutes to prepare. There are no bitter elements to this salad (which is part of why I think you want to be generous with the pepper), and this should make it popular with even the pickiest non-salad folks.
Frozen peas are fine, but pick the nicest snap peas and haricots verts you can. Brief blanching and then chilling will make these shine.
I made a full recipe, then reserved half the dressing and veg to assemble the next day. Any remaining dressing will make for a great dip as well. The creamy tang is perfect with the bright crunch.
David Leite
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