Description
Ina Garten’s buttermilk blue cheese dressing elevates salads with rich, tangy flavors from creamy ingredients. Chefs can drizzle this classic dressing over crisp greens or use as a robust dip for fresh vegetables.
Ingredients
Scale
- ½ to ¾ cups (2 to 3 oz) blue cheese, crumbled
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup sour cream
- 2 to 8 tbsps (1/8 to ½ cup) buttermilk
- ½ to 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- ½ to 3 tsps fresh lemon juice
- 1 tbsp snipped chives
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Blend Base: In a medium bowl, whisk mayonnaise, sour cream, Worcestershire sauce, and lemon juice until smooth and homogeneous.
- Cheese Integration: Crumble blue cheese into the mixture, maintaining a variety of chunk sizes to ensure textural complexity and flavor intensity.
- Liquid Incorporation: Stream buttermilk into the dressing, stirring continuously to achieve a creamy, pourable consistency that coats the back of a spoon.
- Herbal and Seasoning Enhancement: Fold in finely chopped chives or parsley, then generously season with freshly ground black pepper to elevate the overall taste profile.
- Flavor Calibration: Taste and adjust the dressing’s brightness by introducing additional Worcestershire sauce or lemon juice, balancing tanginess and depth.
- Storage and Maturation: Transfer to an airtight glass container and refrigerate for at least one hour, allowing flavors to meld and intensify, with peak taste developing after 24 hours.
- Preservation: Maintain the dressing in the refrigerator, consuming within 3-5 days to ensure optimal freshness and vibrant flavor characteristics.
Notes
- Cheese Selection Matters: Choose high-quality, authentic blue cheese like Roquefort or Gorgonzola for intense, rich flavor and authentic taste.
- Texture Technique: Break blue cheese chunks purposefully – some fine crumbles for even distribution, larger pieces for bold flavor bursts.
- Chill for Flavor Depth: Refrigerating the dressing allows ingredients to marry and develop more complex, sophisticated taste profiles.
- Freshness Window: Consume within 3-5 days for optimal taste and creamy consistency, always keeping the dressing refrigerated.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Category: Appetizer, Snacks
- Method: Blending
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 8
- Calories: 130
- Sugar: 1 g
- Sodium: 250 mg
- Fat: 13 g
- Saturated Fat: 4 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 3 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 15 mg