Yesterday at the “contemporary Mexican” restaurant Sinigual here in Tampa, my mother ordered a romaine hearts salad with a creamy cilantro dressing that had been thickened with a parmesan-like cheese. And my immediate thought… sunflower seeds! They are excellent at providing a dairy-like flavor and approximating a cheesy texture in certain recipes. So I knew I would try my hand at making a copy-cat raw recipe.

If you don’t have basil on hand, use cilantro, or even simple Utterly Pedestrian fresh parsley.

The dressing is thick and very scoopable, a la guacamole, but with a “cheesier” quality due to the sunflower seeds. I also have used a heavy hand on the salt because caesar-type dressings are that way, using anchovies and parm to layer the savoriness in. And as I’ve explained in other recipes, I very much enjoy ways to bring in salt & savoriness in raw recipes, to offset the natural sweetness and high-water-content blandness of a high-raw diet. Use half the salt, for starters, if you prefer.

You can make this dressing to use over a large plate of romaine hearts for enjoyment by 1-3 people. Or, serve on the side for vegetable or chip dipping!

Note: A salad or sandwich made with this dressing would be EXCELLENT with good quality Kalamata or sun-cured black olives!!!

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Recipe for: Creamy Basil Caesar Dressing

For Salads, Dips, and Sandwich Spreads!

• 1 avocado, peeled and pitted
• 1/3 cup raw sunflower seeds
• 1/3 cup fresh basil (measure before washing) — use cilantro or fresh parsley if you’d like, instead
• 1/4 spring water
• 1 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon quality natural salt (or start at a heaping 1/4 teaspoon and work your way up, to taste — just don’t forget it will require strong savoriness to offset any bland vedge you enjoy it with)
• 2 green onions (1-2 tablespoons), trimmed
• 1 medium-large clove of garlic (I used a heaping 1/2 teaspoon-sized clove and would have preffered even more — don’t be stingy with this dish)
• generous grindings of fresh black pepper

Puree until smooth in your blender or food processor. It works well in the blender because of the added water to help the machine “grab” the ingredients.

Serve in a bowl for dipping, use as a sandwich spread, or spread over 1/2 pound (8 oz.) of romaine hearts. I topped my salad with two finely chopped green onions.

Mangia bene!

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