The Cilantro Vinaigrette

I have been producing this original recipe since 1997. CHEK faculty member Josh Rubin claims he could drink this stuff by the gallon if available. It contains lots of good stuff. The combination works well on salads but may be used as a dip, a topping for any fish, poultry or pork, and can be thickened further with the addition of egg yolks or more avocados. As a further note, this dressing will keep for a week well. You will notice that the greens begin to oxidize after a few days. The flavor will suffer some but the dressing will not be "bad." Try to use it up in a week. If you have to store it for longer, be sure to add a layer of E. V. Olive oil over the top to keep oxygen away from the greens. However, even so the acidic nature of vinegar tends to brown up the greens. My suggestion as always if you end up making more than you need is to share some with friends or a neighbor.

Instructions:
When creating emulsified dressings, keep in mind that it is important to carefully follow the procedure. And have all of the ingredients pre-measured prior to starting (Mise en place). It is important to slowly drizzle the in the oil and then turn off the food processors soon as you have completed adding the oil. The drizzling of the oil must be slow enough for the ingredients to incorporate, (This is when the emulsion is forming, chemically speaking the molecules are attaching or suspending to each other). Do this too slowly and the mixture could actually spin it self apart or become to thick. I routinely have to add up to a cup of water to adjust the thickness to be the consistency of salad dressing as opposed to dip.

Special tools: A good food processor, a blender may work but will definitely create very strong emulsion.

Ingredients:
Purée the following in a food processor with a small amount of oil
Note: This may be a good time to add an ounce or 2 of flax oil for added health benefits.
½ cup onion
3 cloves of garlic
1 inch piece of ginger root, peeled and minced first
Process

Now add:
1 large avocado (about 1cup)
2 cups of cilantro tops (some stem is ok)
1 cup parsley tops (some stem is ok) * I like flat leaf parsly
Puree in the processor until well chopped
Hint: it will be like a paste at this point

Then add:
½ cup unseasoned rice vinegar (apple cider vinegar is a good substitute)
2 Tbs of raw honey or raw agave
season with salt and pepper to taste

Pulse the processor to fully combine, now with the processor running drizzle in:
12 ounces of EV olive oil
1-ounce sesame oil

When all the oil is incorporated the dressing is finished. Now use a piece of lettuce to taste and adjust the seasonings.
Bon appetite!