Somewhat Low-Fat and Really Low-Fat Salad Dressings
I love to eat salads, but I really can't stand bottled dressings, especially those horrible low-fat versions with ingredients like guar gum and corn syrup. So when I was dieting for my wedding, I developed a low-fat dressing that actually tastes pretty decent. Now that I'm just trying to maintain my weight loss, I modified the recipe to be a bit richer but still pretty healthy.
I'm guessing there are others out there who would love to ditch the bottled-dressing habit, so here's how to make an easy, delicious, really-low-fat or somewhat-low-fat salad topper.
For really-low-fat dressing, whisk together: 2 tablespoons nonfat plain Greek yogurt, the juice of 1/2 a lemon, 1/8 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard, 1/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt, and 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. This will make enough for one entree-sized salad and tastes like a thin, tangy ranch dressing. Since it's a not very thick, it's a good idea to use a bit more than you usually would, and add things to the salad that will kind of clump up and hold the dressing--I like chopped chives, grated carrots, and/or slivered almonds.
For a slightly more decadent dressing, whisk together: 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar, 4 teaspoons Dijon mustard, 1 teaspoon nonfat plain Greek yogurt, 1/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt, and about 1/16 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. This is like a slightly creamy mustard vinaigrette--you don't really taste the yogurt, but using it cuts the amount of oil you have to add. It's good on bitter and peppery greens and will make enough for one entree-sized salad. I recently tossed this dressing together with baby tatsoi, torn leaves of treviso radicchio, chopped chives, and slivered almonds. It was rich and delicious and definitely did not taste low-fat.
Browse hundreds of recipes for delicious salad dressings at Epicurious.com
Anyone else have a favorite recipe for low-fat salad dressing?
by Sarah Kagan
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