Inspired by pesto, this dressing blends cilantro and dill with pine nuts. Citrus adds a thirst quenching tang, giving it a lighter taste than pesto.
Ingredient notes, substitutions and tips
- Citrus: the zest and juice of an orange is the main ingredient, with a smaller amount of lemon. Feel free to sub lime for the lemon, or switch the amounts of orange and lemon for differing amounts of acidity.
- Fresh herbs: the stems and leaves of cilantro are the. main herb, with a smaller amount of dill. Feel free to sub parsley if you are not a fan of cilantro. Dill really pairs well with the citrus flavors, but if you prefer basil, you could definitely sub, for a cilantro/basil flavor.
- Pine nuts: I prefer using raw pine nuts, because I think they taste less bitter. Pine nuts are costly, so you could also sub raw walnuts. Again, I don’t recommend toasted walnuts, which also can be quite bitter.
Step-by-step instructions
Prep ingredients: Juice and zest the orange and lemon, then clean and chop the fresh herbs. Chop the red onion.
Above: Use a food processor or a blender to blitz the dressing until you get the most consistent color that indicates the herbs are chopped finely and incorporated.
Blend ingredients: Simple place all prepped ingredients in the carafe of a food processor or blender (Vita-mix, Beast, NutriBullet or any fast blender should work.) and blitz for up to 20-30 seconds or even more as needed, to develop an emulsified dressing with herbs blitzed as much as possible for a consistent color and texture.
Tips for making and serving this recipe
- Serving: this dressing works well on a green salad, a chopped salad, grilled meats, or my unique Ribbon Salad made from daikon, carrots and cucumbers.
- Garnishes: based on the ingredients in this dressing, extra chopped fresh herbs, crumbled feta, and pine nuts would make wonderful garnishes, if you use on a green salad.
- Serving option: You could serve it as a dip for chips or veggies. It’s not as thick, but if you wanted to serve this way, you could amp up any of the solids and cut back on the citrus juice.
- Blending: consider doubling this recipe to make it that much easier to blend. I’ve devised the amount to work in a food processor or blender as listed above, but have found that doubling the recipe yields even a more emulsified, bright green dressing.
Above: Carrot Cucumber and Daikon Salad dressed with this Citrus Cilantro Dressing.
Other dressing recipes
- If you love cilantro, try my Healthy Avocado Lime Crema with Jalapeño, which makes an incredible condiment or dip, with a yogurt base.
- For an oil free dressing with tons of flavor, try my Creme Fraîche Dressing with Roasted Garlic & Herbs.
- For my favorite dressing of all time, make my Blueberry Vinaigrette with Basil and Lemon
TL;DR – Recipe Recap
- Pesto inspired, oil based dressing that incorporates herbs and pine nuts, but unlike pesto, it is dairy free and includes tangy citrus flavors.
- Fully blended for a creamy and consistent texture.
- Suitable for dressing a green salad, chopped salad or over pork tenderloin or other animal protein. Thicken it up (see recipe card) for a delicious dip.
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Cilantro Citrus Dressing
Inspired by pesto, this dressing blends cilantro and dill with pine nuts. Citrus adds a thirst quenching tang, giving it a lighter taste than pesto.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 orange (zest and juice)
- 1/4 lemon (zest and juice)
- 1/4 cup red onion chopped
- 1/4 cup pine nuts raw or toasted (your preference, I prefer raw)
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro (leaves & stems)
- 1/4 cup fresh dill
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Method:
- Roughly chop onions, cilantro and dill.
- Grate the zest from 1/2 of the orange and 1/4 the lemon.
- Squeeze the juice from the entire orange and the 1/4 lemon.
- Place all ingredients in food processor, blender or use immersion blender to emusify and puree the ingredients smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings and the citrus ingredients to your liking.
Notes
Salad garnish ideas: based on the ingredients in this dressing, pine nuts, crumbled feta, and orange zest would make great garnishes.
As a dip: increase the herbs and pine nuts just a little, and decrease the citrus juice and oil for a thicker consistency you can serve as a dip.
Nutrition (an estimate)
Calories: 120kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 147mg | Potassium: 84mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 13mg | Iron: 0.5mg | Magnesium: 14mg | Net Carbohydrates: 3g
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