Avocado Caesar Dressing
April 23, 2013 
I know a gal who is so obsessed with avocados that she has written a cookbook devoted to just avocados! She is Gaby Dalkin, author of "What's Gaby Cooking" and she just happens to be my goddaughter. "Absolutely Avocados" will show you many new and fun ways to use avocados. Her love of avocados really comes through in this book. It has certainly given me a new appreciation of what you can do with an avocado.
Gaby lives in L.A. now where she is a private chef, recipe developer and food blogger. She has even been a private chef for Jessica Simpson, who wrote a blurb for the book. Gaby grew up in Tucson, Arizona, where she acquired her love of avocados. She is a guacamole nut and includes a few interesting new versions in her book, including an Asian inspired one that sounds really good - Spicy Sesame Guacamole. There are 75 recipes in the book and they run the gamut from breakfast to dessert and everything in between. She even has a recipe for Avocado Chocolate Chip Cookies that swaps out the butter in the recipe for an avocado! How great is that? Gaby also explains the different kinds of avocados there are and how to buy and store them.
Do you know the easy way to prep an avocado? Hold the avocado in your hand and with a sharp knife, cut through the avocado to the pit, lengthwise, around the whole avocado. Twist the two halves - they come right apart. Then whack the knife right in to the pit and twist. It pops out. Take a spoon and scoop out the flesh.
It was hard to decide what to make out of the book because so many things looked good: there was a Balsamic Portobello Topped with Herbed Avocado Salad, Grilled Shrimp and Avocado Pasta, Hawaiian Pulled Pork and Avocado Sandwich that I'm sure my husband would love and then the Avocado and Chocolate Chip Pound Cake, which I almost made. But this Caesar Dressing won out and it is, no exaggeration, fantastic! I couldn't stop eating it. I thought maybe it was the best dressing I'd ever had. It is rich and creamy with a little zing in it. You can make it as thick or thin as you want by adjusting the olive oil. Don't limit yourself to using it just over salad, because it's too good. I think spreading it on a sandwich would be great, too.
Avocado Caesar Dressing
from "Absolutely Avocados" by Gaby Dalkin
for a printable recipe click here
makes about 1½ cups
Ingredients:
- 1 Hass avocado
- ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more in needed
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 or 2 garlic cloves, peeled
- ¾ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ teaspoon coarse salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions:
Cut the avocado in half lengthwise. Remove the pit from the avocado and discard. Remove the avocado from the skin and place the avocado flesh in a food processor bowl.
Add the olive oil, Parmesan, vinegar, lemon juice, garlic cloves, Worcestershire, salt, and pepper. Pulse for 1 to 2 minutes, until smooth and creamy. Adjust the salt and pepper if needed. (You can thin the dressing, if you need to, with more olive oil).
Use immediately or refrigerate for up to 3 days.
Reader Comments (18)
Just bought some avocados yesterday, so I can't wait to try this once they ripen! My husband will love this too.
I'm so excited for this cookbook! I love anything with avocados
Years ago, when I was working in a health food store, people will come in and asked about everything as if I was a doctor. One day, an elderly lady came in and lament that she cannot have the regular mayonnaise, and so upset that she has nothing to spread on her sandwiches. I suggested vege spread, no response, then I said how about avocado, and she walked out so fast, like a new revelation hit her. Now that I am older and wiser, and due to my husband's poor health, and his refusal to eat most vegetables, this could be my new weapon. Wow, I am very very happy about this recipe, just like this elderly lady, it hit me. Thank you and thanks to your god daughter.
Just in time for the avocado's newly-elevated status as California's official state fruit! :-)
Also, did you know that the first patent for a tree ever issued was to Rudolph Hass for his avocado... here's The Story (and some cool unisex/women's t-shirt/hoodie designs featuring the patent) in case you're interested: http://tinyurl.com/cqahbdk
Can't wait for this cookbook—LOVE avocados too!
Elaine,
Thanks so much for this lovely recipe; I crave avocado's, and this sounds wonderful for the dressing; I'll certainly look for the recipe book. Appreciate so much your sharing and wonderful cooking site! Super!!
Love a good ripe avo! Its such a staple in my kitchen, great for breakfast lunch or dinner. Thanks for this wonderful recipe
Thank you! I love avacadoes I was wondering is there a substitute for the cheese? I'm trying to take out cheese out of my diet but I love Parmesan Cheese.
Sounds delish, must try this. Do have a question though, you list the parmesan like this
¼ grated Parmesan cheese
my question is a 1/4 of what? Presume cup in this case, but want to make sure
Thanks
From The Italian Dish:
Monique: typo. Should be 1/4 cup. Thanks for letting me know.
Thank you.
Thank you for all your efforts to bring the best recipes! The Avocado Cesar Dressing is amazing and is my now go to spread for my open face tunna with Anchovies on crusty bread spread!
Thank you so much for advocating real food and fresh home cooking. I'd love to put your link on my blog, with your permission.
From The Italian Dish:
Carol: No problem - you don't need permission to add a blog link, but thanks for asking.
I would never have thought of using avocado in caesar salad but it is delicious.
I just recently started eating avocados...I love the creaminess it brings! What a great idea for a cookbook, I think very few people know how to use the avocado to its full potential, including me!
I'm so hooked on this dressing! I could eat the whole bowl. I must be using smaller avocadoes, though, because mine doesn't make that much. So I double it! I also found that it doesn't blend very well in a large food processor, and it's hard to scrape out of a blender. So I drop all the ingredients into a wide-mouth pint jar and use an immersion blender to make it creamy. Mixing bowl and storage container in one!
I never knew what avocados even looked like, but was looking to eat healthier and heard avocados made a good substitute for mayonnaise, spreads, dips and salad dressings, so I googled it and came across this recipe. Tried this recipe yesterday and love, love, love it! It's not only a delicious salad dressing, but can also be used for a chip/cracker dip and it's healthy. Thanks for the recipe! :)
Adding a little dijon helps with both emulsification and classic caesar flavor,