Ginger-Kefir Lime House Dressing
- Serves: 10 – 12
- Preparation Time: 15 minutes
- Total Cooking time: none
An Asian take on the classic ranch dressing, this is a great dip for crudités (raw vegetable) trays and is a delicious alternative topping for an everyday green salad as well as the perfect accompaniment to the salad recipe that will be coming next week. As a side note, the recipe calls for an ingredient called Kefir Lime. This is a citrus variety that originates in Southeast Asia where it is also known as magrut. The unique thing about kefir limes is that while it does bear a fruit, it is the leaves of the plant that are the star of the show. The leaves possess a delicious and sweet citrus flavor to them without the sourness of the juice or the bitterness that peel, or zest can have. The downside is that while this particular ingredient is now becoming more common in America, it still is not a common store ingredient, If you are lucky enough to know a person who grows one of these trees, or happen to be in an Asian market that stocks them I highly recommend obtaining some as they freeze well. If you cannot find them, then lime zest will work just as well with no appreciable loss of flavor.
| Amount | Measure | Ingredients |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | cups | Buttermilk |
| 2 | cups | Sour Cream |
| 1 | cup | Mayonnaise |
| 1 | Tbsp | chopped fresh garlic |
| 2 | Tbsp | Fresh ginger root, peeled and crushed |
| 2 | whole | Kefir lime leaves (alternatively use 1 tbsp grated lime zest) |
| 1/4 | tsp | black pepper |
| 1/4 | cup | diced yellow onion |
| 1 | Tbsp | soy sauce |
| 1 | Tbsp | sake (Japanese rice wine) |
| 1/8 | tsp | wasabe powder |
To prepare:
Combine the buttermilk, garlic, ginger, lime leaves (or lime zest) and onion in a blender and puree until all ingredients are smoothly blended. Whisk the buttermilk mixture together with the sour cream and mayonnaise in a medium bowl until well blended. Lastly add in the soy sauce, sake, and wasabe powder and adjust the salt and pepper to taste. Cover and chill at least 1 hour. Serve over salad or add more sour cream to use as a dip.
