Herby Low-fat Buttermilk Ranch Dressing (Over Field Greens)
We recently had some good friends over for the last time before they moved to Mexico. He is a “meat and potatoes guy,” so we knew we had to keep it simple. It also was one of those super hot, super humid, welcome to Texas days. So the menu was simple, massive New York strips grilled, baked potato “bar” and a big green salad.
To keep it easy, we did a simple Ranch dressing. We have those beautiful herbs from the garden to use. But I thought to make it lite, we would go with a low-fat version.
First mash the garlic. This turns it into a bit of a paste and allows the flavor to easily blend into the dressing. Next add a bit of salt to the garlic.
Herbs make it unique
This is not a typical bottled dressing in that it has a lot more of an herb flavor and it also gives it a bit of green hue. Of course, if you don’t want it as herby you can omit or cut back a bit on the herbs. (But that’s what makes it so good!)
Add the the sour cream and mayo. They both should be a lite version in order to make this low-fat, but it works either way. The herbs come next. Then add the Worcestershire and vinegar.
Now it’s time for the immersion blender to mix it all together. This also will work fine in a blender. After mixing a bit, then add the buttermilk. Depending on how thick you like it, you may want to add more low-fat buttermilk.
It’s so creamy and a bit thicker than Ranch Dressing in bottle.
It can be thinned out with more buttermilk, but if you want to use it as a veggie dip, keep it a bit on the thicker side.
On this night we just used field greens, arugula, cherry tomatoes, cucumber and green onions for the salad. We spread it over a large platter. Then we took carrot and bell pepper strips then a sprinkle of fresh parsley to finish it off. We chose not to toss this salad to allow everyone to sprinkle their own amount of dressing on their salad.
It tastes as beautiful as it looks.
On a hot summer day, along side a big ‘ole steak and potato, a fresh salad with Herby Buttermilk Ranch Dressing completes the meal!
Herby Low-fat Ranch Dressing
Ingredients
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons chives, chopped
- 2 tablespoons (or more) fresh dill, finely chopped
- 3/4 cup lite mayo
- 1/2 cup lite sour cream
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Mince the garlic with a fork into a paste in a small bowl. Pinch 1/4 teaspoon of salt into the garlic. Mix together with a fork.
- Place the mayo, sour cream, and chopped herbs into a deep bowl. Add the Worcestershire, vinegar and lemon. Finally, add the buttermilk.
- Using an immersion blender blend all ingredients together. Add additional buttermilk to thin further if necessary. Salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve as a dressing or as a delicious veggie dip. Enjoy!
