Green Goddess Dressing: Chef Roemer Original

Green Goddess Dressing

Green Goddess as Veggie Dip - Wikipedia photo

Crunchy romaine with bacon and avocado or some Alfalfa sprouts added is a tasty salad. But some salad dressings overwhelm all that flavoring, especially the oil/vinegar types or even one of my favorite creamy dressings: Bleu Cheese. Green Goddess creamy dressing is the answer, but sometimes it is hard to find at the local grocery store for some reason. So, try a hand at making your own.

The original Green Goddess dressing was created by chef Philip Roemer of the Palace Hotel in San Francisco in the 1920s. The avocado is a tree native to Mexico and Central America whose fruit is a berry that contains one seed. They have also emigrated to the Mediterranean and tropical climates, as well as grown in orchards in California. Thus chefs in California use it profusely. Chef Roemer usually garnished his salads topped with Green Goddess with bits of chicken, crab, or shrimp. Roemer died in 1936. 

Today, Green Goddess is also used as a veggie dip and paired with an aromatic white wine like Gruner Veltliner. Recently, San Francisco restaurants have revived the original Roemer recipe. Recipe serves 4.

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1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon water

2 teaspoons dried tarragon

¾ mayonnaise

¼ cup sour cream

½ chopped parsely

1 garlic clove, chopped [2 if you like garlic]

1 anchovy, fillet, rinsed

¼ cup minced fresh chives

salt and black pepper

4 slices bacon

2 romaine lettuce hearts [12 oz], quartered lengthwise

1 avocado, halved, pitted, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 small shallot, sliced into thin rings

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1. Combine lemon juice, water, and tarragon in bowl and let sit for 15 minutes.
2. Process mayonnaise, sour cream, parsley, garlic, anchovy, and tarragon in blender until smooth, about 30 seconds, scraping the sides of blender jar as needed. Transfer dressing mixture to bowl and stir in chives. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Refrigerate for 1 hour to let the flavors blend.
3. Meanwhile, cook bacon in 12-inch skillet over medium heat until crispy, 7 to 9 minutes. Transfer to paper towel-lined plate and let cool. Crumble bacon into bite-size pieces. Some grocery stores sell packages of bacon pieces, which go well with recipes such as this.
4. Place romaine hearts on platter or individual dressing bowls, cut sides up, and drizzle liberally with dressing. Top with avocado, shallot and bacon. Serve.