Green Goddess Dressing

It's 92 degrees outside. And it's lunchtime. What do I feel like eating? Not much (a very unusual situation for me). Still, I know that I better eat something filling. The rest of the day is going to pass in a blur and I'm trying not to snack. So whatever I eat now has to keep me going until dinner.

Light but filling. Substantial but not heavy. I don't normally turn to salad. But today I'm making an exception. That's because I've got a good dressing to go on top.

Green goddess. What a great name for a salad dressing. It's a delicious concoction of herbs -- traditionally tarragon and chives -- along with some mayo for heft, scallion for bite, and lemon juice and sour cream for tang.

I hear what you're saying. That sour cream and mayo is going to take a healthy salad and turn it into a Big Mac in a bowl. But this variation of green goddess substitutes avocado for most of the mayo and sour cream. Avocado provides fat (good fat) to keep the dressing creamy. And it keeps the color intact. It is green goddess, after all.

Oh, and you'll notice that I didn't call it green goddess salad dressing. That's because this cool and creamy dressing would also taste great over poached fish or grilled chicken, or as a dipping sauce for raw veggies.

Gather your ingredients.

Put everything except the sour cream into a food processor.

Blend until smooth.

Add the sour cream and blend again until the sour cream is just incorporated.

Pour over salad and enjoy!

Green Goddess Dressing

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup chopped scallions

1/2 cup fresh tarragon leaves

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped

1/2 ripe avocado, diced

1/8 cup lemon juice

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tsp kosher salt

black pepper

1/4 cup sour cream

1.    Place all ingredients except sour cream in the bowl of a food processor. Blend until smooth.

2.    Add sour cream. Blend until just incorporated.

3.    Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Note: All ingredients can be adjusted to taste.

Serves 2 to 4