I've always enjoyed The Old Spaghetti Factory's Creamy Pesto Salad Dressing. A few weeks ago I met a friend there for lunch and requested the creamy pesto dressing for my side salad. That lead me to look online for a copycat recipe. I found the same clone recipe all over the place including at CD Kitchen. I decided to try it. Here's the clone recipe:The Old Spaghetti Factory Creamy Pesto Dressing
3/4 cup oil
1 cup mayonnaise
3/4 cup buttermilk (I used Knudsen brand* -- really low sodium [130 mg./cup] for buttermilk)
2 tablespoons grated Romano cheese
2 tablespoons crushed dried basil
1/2 teaspoon salt (I omitted)
1 clove garlic, minced
Hot pepper sauce
Whisk together oil and mayonnaise. Add buttermilk, cheese, basil, salt, garlic and hot pepper sauce to taste. Mix thoroughly. Cover and let flavors meld overnight in refrigerator.
*If you live in the eastern, southeastern and midwestern United States, Knudsen is known by the Breakstone's name.
I originally made the dressing just for me because I thought my husband might not like the predominant basil flavor. I was wrong! He tasted it and wanted some on his salad too. I knew the clone wasn't going to work with a low sodium diet; the ingredients needed some adjustment. Plus, the recipe made 1-1/2 cups of dressing. That's a lot for just two people. So I worked on cutting the sodium level and cutting the quantities. Here's what I came up with:
Creamy Pesto Salad Dressing
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup buttermilk, plain yogurt, or plain kefir
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. dried basil
1 Tbsp. finely grated Parmesan cheese
Whisk together all ingredients in a small bowl. Refrigerate for at 30 minutes before serving. Whisk again before serving.
6 comments:
I love this creamy pesto dressing, what a great way to use the basil from the garden this summer :)
You are so right about using the fresh basil. I know I've got some growing right now. Not big enough to harvest yet, though.
Thanks for visiting my site. You are doing a really good job here trying to find substitutes for low sodium meals. Your salad dressing sounds delicious.
I am a sucker for creamy dressings over my salads which kind of defeats the purpose of eating the salad in the first place! But you offer some great substitutes here without sacrificing taste so I will give this a shot.
Maria, I hope you give it a try and add your own special creative touches. I agree with you about the creamy dressings defeating the whole purpose of eating salads. But I'm a sucker for them too.
I use powdered mustard as an emulsifier and thickener for my home-made mayonnaise.
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