Avocado Dressing

Growing up, I was lucky enough to have a giant Haas avocado tree growing in my front yard. I thought nothing of having half an avocado served along with my dinner, or the ability to make myself guacamole by simply walking as far as my driveway. We gave them away by the bagfuls and yet there were always more than enough for us. The tree, unfortunately, quit producing fruit a few years back, so now days, I have to buy mine at the grocery store. They most often are rock hard, and there's no guarantee they will become ripe enough to eat before they began to go bad.

But we love avocados in our house, so we are willing to take that chance. The other day, Sage found a ready-to-eat one at the grocery, and I decided instead of just putting it on my salad, I'd make a dressing using it as the base. Since it was enough to dress a few lunch-sized salads, I tried it two ways- twice I had it on a bed of spring greens with a variety of vegetables and then on a salad similar to the one I've had in the past at a local Mexican restaurant. Their Avocado Salad comes with mixed greens (heavy on the iceberg and romaine) tossed in the dressing, and topped with tomatoes, cheddar, and chunks of avocado. (You can also have it with chicken or shrimp, if you so desire.)

I did enjoy it both ways, but I'd say I preferred it the Mexican way. Probably just because the dressing compliments the sharp cheddar so well, and because it had even more avocado on it. It held up well for several days in the fridge, although it did really thicken up. I just added a little water to thin it, but flavor wise it tasted the same freshly made as it did three days later when I had the last of it.

Avocado Dressing

1 ripe Haas avocado

juice from 1/2 lemon (I got about a tbsp and a half)

1 garlic clove, pressed

3-4 tbsp lite sour cream

1 tbsp water

cayenne pepper, to taste

1/4 tsp kosher salt

fresh ground pepper

Mash avocado in a small bowl. Add lemon juice and garlic. Mix well.

Stir in 3 tbsp sour cream, water, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper. Taste, and adjust seasonings if necessary. Add the additional sour cream if too acidic.

Use immediately or store in the refrigerator until ready to use.