TIS THE SEASON TO GET UNDRESSED … LIKE YOUR SALAD - the blog

It’s a fact, once the conversation starts about going to the beach, showing off the season’s newest swimwear and getting ready for summer vacations, many folks start to watch the daily fat intake. It’s evident with people frequently ordering ‘SOS’ (dishes with sauce on the side). The rest of us, or people like me, just pig out and dig into the every day fat filled foods. Either way eating a little lighter is welcome this time of year because of the heat alone!
The biggest culprit this time of year seems to be salad dressings perhaps because as we eat these delicious summer salads in the hopes of eating lighter folks realize the fat and calories are sneaking in when we ladle dressings over the greens. So we need to dress lighter and indulge in these beautiful tender greens that are hard to overlook at the local farmer’s market right now so abundant and at their peak. I wrapped my brains around this subject and came up with some tasty dressings with the beach figure in mind. And even if eating lighter is not your goal “Summer Dressing” is a perfect understated match for these perfect summer greens whose flavors need no heavy make-up.
 
(testing different kinds of fat less yogurt - Fage was my favorite) 

Summer Dressing
Fat is one of the key ingredients in dressings and I have yet to try a good fatless one yet so this fatless thing went right out the door.  Fat carries most flavor and we’re happily very accustomed to it – think of bacon for breakfast or foie gras -- so flavorful because of their fat content, which is upwards of 50%. 
I wanted to create a light dressing but without sacrificing flavor as I took apart a simple yoghurt dressing recipe from an old cookbook that was made with whole milk yoghurt. I decided to fat free yoghurt instead and added extra virgin olive oil for richness, which also boosted the flavor.  You may think “but you added the fat right back in.”  Not exactly, I replaced the milk fat with a vegetable oil which your body generally breaks down quicker.  I added fresh cucumber pieces and juice and a decent heap of fresh minced parsley to inject a fresh, cool summery feel to the dressing and I think it’s delicious.

(yogurt-cucumber dressing)

Summery Cucumber Dressing
(recipe dresses four salads)
1 cucumber
2 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped fine
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cups fat free yoghurt
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
sea salt, to taste
fresh black pepper grindings

1.    Peel cucumber then cut in half . With a kitchen spoon scrape seeds out of cucumber middle. Put cucumber seeds in a fine mesh sieve then press juice with back of spoon through sieve - catching juices into a bowl. Chop seeded cucumber small (approximately 1/8-inch pieces).
2.    Peel garlic then chop roughly. Combine chopped garlic and olive oil in a small pot then cook on low heat setting for 3-4 minutes or until garlic is cooked throughout.
3.    Rinse parsley with water then chop fine (discard thick parsley stems if they’re too rough for you).
4.    With a kitchen spoon combine cucumber juice with garlic/oil mixture, parsley, yoghurt,  red wine vinegar salt and pepper then add cut cucumbers.
5.    Refrigerate dressing

Chef’s Tip: add fresh chopped dill to above recipe which is a terrific flavor companion to cucumbers.

(striped bass - a big boy getting ready on the grill - a match for the yogurt sauce)

Serving Suggestions
My favorite salad for this yoghurt dressing is iceberg  cut into large wedges which stands up strong to the somewhat weighty dressing and delivers a welcoming crunch.  Serve this salad next to a charred steak or fish from the grill which doesn’t even need a sauce on its own since the yoghurt dressing is substantial and delivers flavor balance.