| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 35 min |
| Prep: | 35 min |
| Yield: | 8 to 12 servings |
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons raspberry vinegar
- 1 shallot, quartered
- 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 garlic clove, lightly crushed with the side of a knife blade, and quartered
- 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 pinch crushed red pepper
- 2 tablespoons Parmesan
- 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 12 cups romaine lettuce soaked in salt water to remove grit, stiff spines removed, torn into bite sized pieces and dried with a salad spinner (from 2 or 3 heads romaine lettuce)
- 1 red onion, thinly sliced on a mandolin
- 1 Vidalia onion, thinly sliced on a mandoline
- 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
- 1/3 cup grated Parmesan
- 1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
- 1 small loaf French bread, sliced, toasted and cut into croutons
Instructions
- For the raspberry vinaigrette:
- Add the vinegar to a blender, replace the lid, turn it on, and through the feed opening, add, 1 at a time, the shallot, black pepper, salt, mustard, and thyme. Then leaving the blender running, add the olive oil in a slow thin stream.
- Wash and dry the blender to have it ready to prepare the other dressing.
- For the creamy Italian dressing:
- Add the vinegar to a blender, replace the lid, turn it on, and through the feed opening, add, 1 at a time, the garlic, black pepper, salt, red pepper, and Parmesan. Then leaving the blender running, add the olive oil in a slow thin stream.
- For the salad, toss the lettuce, red onion, sweet onion, tomatoes, Parmesan, and parsley together in a large bowl. Top with croutons, and serve the dressings on the side.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 10 servings |
| Calories | 412 |
| Total Fat | 35 g |
| Saturated Fat | 6 g |
| Carbohydrates | 20 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 3 g |
| Sugar | 5 g |
| Protein | 6 g |
| Cholesterol | 5 mg |
| Sodium | 476 mg |
Reviews
Creamy Italian Dressing with no mayonaise or cream or something????
Creamy Italian is wonderful, and took the advice of others: red wine vinegar, more garlic, fresh basil & oregano. A new regular in my dressing rotation. As for the “high calorie” comment . . . the only calories come from the olive oil, and that’s as heart-healthy as it gets. Enjoy without guilt!
Very good, the only reason it isn’t a 5 is because it is so high calorie.
Delish-I added more garlic and used a good red wine vinegar instead of the recommended one. The change I would also make is to season the croutons-they are bland. DH Loved this salad and the dressing.
I used the creamy Italian recipe to put on an antipasto I was serving for dinner. I used red wine vinegar instead of cider vinegar and liked the taste better, although I thought that a little more vinegar was needed to balance the olive oil. I also added some fresh basil and oregano and thought this added a nice additional flavor. Quick to prep.
I was looking for a quick, basic vinaigrette to make at the last minute. The fit the bill. The ingredients are things that most everyone would have on hand and it’s a snap to make. To top it off it’s tasty!
I had my mother-in-law over for dinner tonight and I forgot to buy Italian dressing for the salad. I saw this recipe and I had the ingredients to make it. The dressing took less than 5 minutes and it was delicious – better than anything store bought. This will be a staple in my recipe book.
This raspberry dressing took minutes in a blender and was great on hot or cold veggies. Add bits of browned bacon to it warm and drive your pork eating friends crazy!
I started making these dressing 15 minutes before leaving for a dinner party, which I was taking these to. That is how easy and delicious these dressings are. However, I added frozen raspberries to the vinegarette, and it was wonderful. With what was left when I came home I even added more raspberries. My husband wanted even more. These were both soo easy I’m not sure I’ll be buying anymore store dressings.
Very, very good Italian dressing and so easy!! A keeper!