Shining purple salad dressing.

Silence Dogood here. Every now and then, people search for something really intriguing on our blog, Poor Richard’s Almanac. (We know this because WordPress, our blog’s cyber-home, is so wonderful about showing us all sorts of stats.) One that caught my eye recently was “shining purple dressing.” Purple dressing alone would have done it, but “shining purple” put it over the top. I couldn’t stop thinking about this.

After Googling “purple dressing” and coming up with nothing remotely purple, I decided to take up the challenge. Here’s my best shot (for now, anyway) at purple salad dressing. See what you think!

                Silence’s Shining Purple Salad Dressing

Shred or pulverize a packed cup of ‘Dark Opal’, ‘Purple Ruffles’, or another purple basil variety; infuse in extra-virgin olive oil to cover until the olive oil takes on a purple color, mashing and stirring occasionally to hasten the process. Strain the purple-tinged olive oil through a wire sieve, reserving the oil; you can use the shredded basil leaves to add flavor to a stir-fry or pizza sauce if you wish. Add a deep purple wine, like Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, or Merlot to the olive oil. Depending on your preference, you can add a ratio of 1/3 to 1/2 wine to oil, until the dressing takes on a shining purple color. Add a tablespoon of lemon juice, 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of salt (we like Real Salt, but you could add the sea salt of your choice or Himalayan salt, instead), and fresh or dried lemon thyme, oregano, and rosemary to taste. Mince a shallot and stir it into the dressing. Allow the dressing to sit out for at least an hour, shaking occasionally to blend the flavors, before serving. 

I think this would make a great dressing for a salad of frisee, spring mix, arugula, and/or baby spinach, with Mandarin orange or pear slices, slivered almonds, and red onion. For an ultra-purple experience, you could try it over shredded red cabbage with sliced red beet eggs, purple carrots, and red Spanish onions (which of course are actually purple). But it would be yummy over Romaine lettuce with ‘Yellow Pear’ tomatoes, diced sweet red bell peppers, scallions (green onions), and freshly shredded Swiss or Parmesan cheese as well. 

Let me know what you think. And if you have purple salad dressing recipes of your own, please share them! I’m already wondering if adding plain yogurt would enhance the dressing or turn it pink. 

        ‘Til next time,

                     Silence

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