Cilantro salad dressing just the way Grandma made it

Rreal Tacos 100 6th Street, Suite 110, Atlanta. 404-458-5887. www.rrealtacos.com

One night a few weeks ago my dog Murry and I enjoyed a delicious dinner on the patio at Rreal Taco in Midtown. Though all the food was terrific, I especially liked their special cilantro sauce which also doubled as dressing for the Abuela’s Salad. It has chard, chayote, onions, and avocado, among other ingredients — all perfectly complemented by the cilantro dressing. Any chance the chef might share the recipe? Thanks so much! Really appreciate this column and the “In Season” work that you do. We love supporting local restaurants and farmers and your columns help us keep doing that! Best. — Keri Lubell, Decatur

Rreal Taco’s chef and owner Adrian Villarreal was happy to provide not only the recipe but the story behind it.

“I’m often a home body. Watch a movie, cook something, finishing a project or just chill at home is more appealing than going out. That has been true for a long time. When I was a young teenager I would ask my parents if I could stay at home to cook for us so we could eat when they got back from their errands, mall adventure or wherever Mom, Dad and my brother had to go to. Luckily the answer was usually ‘yes.’

“So leaving my house on Sundays to visit family wasn’t always my favorite but I remember looking forward to going to my grandma’s house, partly thanks to the always present salad before the meal, more specifically her cilantro dressing. Well, that and the cookies, since our home was a mostly a ‘dry’ house when it came to sugary snacks. To this day I still remember being excited for the salad course. So as soon as I had the opportunity to write my own menu for a restaurant I called my Aunt Amalia, the keeper of Grandma’s delicious cilantro dressing recipe, among others, which she gladly passed along. That is why the salad gets the title of ‘Grandma’s.”

Villerreal uses a Vita-Prep to make the dressing. This restaurantgrade blender from VitaMix has a two-horsepower motor that purees ingredients quickly and makes a completely smooth dressing. If you’re making this with a home blender, you may want to strain the mixture and your results won’t be quite so smooth and silky. The dressing is perfect for salads but also as a dipping sauce for Rreal Tacos salt-roasted potatoes or drizzled on a taco.