A creamy salad dressing developed for the stars
Green Goddess Dressing was created at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco, an opulent 19th century hotel noted for its celebrity chefs.
In those days, celebrity chefs were not Food Network Stars, but usually men either from, or trained in, Europe. No one was yelling “Bam!” so much back then.
Chef Philip Roemer debuted the dressing in 1923 to honour actor George Arliss, who stayed at the hotel while performing in William Archer’s hit play The Green Goddess.
It is believed to have been inspired by a dressing that hailed from the kitchens serving Louis XIII, served then not with salads but with eel.
The original recipe is reported to have contained mayonnaise, sour cream, parsley, chives, anchovies, lemon juice and vinegar, but it has been tinkered with over the years by countless chefs and home cooks, including yours truly.
A modernized version recently served at the hotel includes additional ingredients like spinach and chervil and capers, and a homemade mayo with raw egg yolks. The dressing may have different versions, but it’s always creamy and vibrant with herbs, piquant with a bit of acidity, and salty-savory from anchovies.
This is my most recent version. You can use it as a salad dressing or as a dip with crudités. Go vegetarian by substituting a tablespoon (15 mL) of rinsed capers for the anchovies.
Green Goddess Dressing and Dip
Makes: 13/4 cups (430 mL) 12 servings Start to finish: 10 minutes
2 canned or jarred anchovies, rinsed and chopped 1 clove garlic, chopped 1 cup parsley leaves 1/4 cup (60 mL) roughly chopped fresh basil
2 tbsp (30 mL) fresh tarragon leaves
4 scallions, trimmed and cut into pieces 1 tbsp (15 mL) fresh lemon juice 1 tbsp (15 mL) white wine vinegar 3/4 cup (180 mL) mayonnaise 3/4 cup (180 mL) sour cream 1 tbsp (15 mL) Dijon mustard Kosher salt and pepper to taste
Place all the ingredients except the salt and pepper into a food processor or blender. Process until fairly smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste.