Spring Salad with Dill Dressing
This Dill Dressing is a dreamy, creamy sauce perfect for your favorite salads, veggies, wraps, and more! It doubles as a dressing and a dip and has the most incredible flavor from plenty of fresh dill, lemon juice, garlic, and a creamy cashew butter base.
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 1 large or 2 small heads butter lettuce washed, spun dry and leaves torn into bite size pieces
- 1 cup thinly sliced red cabbage
- 4 small radishes sliced as thin as possible or 1 medium watermelon radish sliced thinly
- 2 small carrots scrubbed clean and julienned or sliced super thin (purple or yellow would be pretty)
- 1 bunch fresh chives chopped
- A few kumquats sliced crosswise
- A few edible flowers
- Flaky sea salt if desired
- Dressing:
- 6 Tablespoons unrefined cold-pressed, extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 ½ Tablespoons raw cashew butter sub mayo for nut-free
- 3 Tablespoons water
- 1 small garlic clove
- ½ shallot or 2 scallions
- Zest of half a lemon optional - gives it more lemon punch than just juice
- Juice of 1 lemon
- ½ teaspoon sea salt + more to taste
- Few grinds of black pepper
- 1 box .75 ounce fresh dill, tough stems removed, fronds chopped
Instructions
- Place the butter lettuce in a large bowl and layer the remaining ingredients on top.
- Blend all dressing ingredients except dill in a blender until smooth and creamy. Taste for seasoning. Stir in chopped dill.
- Drizzle just enough dressing to coat lightly and toss together. Finish with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt, if desired.
Notes
Recipe Tips
For a nut-free version of this recipe, substitute mayonnaise, plain Greek Yogurt, or even sour cream for the cashew butter.
I recommend using a high-speed blender instead of a food processor to get an extra smooth and creamy consistency. What Components are Great with Creamy Dill Sauce?
Salad greens: For a creamy dressing, you want sturdy greens like romaine, green leaf lettuce, iceberg, or even fresh butter lettuce. Nice to mix something bitter like radicchio with a mild salad too.
Fruit: Dill is delicious with kumquats, pictured here, or other citrus or even strawberries.
Raw veggies like snap peas, carrots, radishes, and red cabbage are my go-to's in the spring.
Cooked veggies like asparagus, green beans, or pickled onions would be great, too.
Other herbs like chives, basil, tarragon, and mint can be part of this salad.
Creamy cheese like feta, goat cheese or avocado
Crunchy nuts or seeds like toasted pistachios, almonds, or walnuts; or sunflower seeds. Make-Ahead & Storage Tips
I always wash and dry my salad greens as soon as I bring them home from the market. I store them in Vejibags or damp kitchen towels.
Hearty veggies (such as cabbage and radish) can be washed and chopped a day in advance if needed.
This dressing can be made a few days in advance but it cannot be frozen. The dressing keeps for at least a week if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
For a nut-free version of this recipe, substitute mayonnaise, plain Greek Yogurt, or even sour cream for the cashew butter.
I recommend using a high-speed blender instead of a food processor to get an extra smooth and creamy consistency. What Components are Great with Creamy Dill Sauce?
Salad greens: For a creamy dressing, you want sturdy greens like romaine, green leaf lettuce, iceberg, or even fresh butter lettuce. Nice to mix something bitter like radicchio with a mild salad too.
Fruit: Dill is delicious with kumquats, pictured here, or other citrus or even strawberries.
Raw veggies like snap peas, carrots, radishes, and red cabbage are my go-to's in the spring.
Cooked veggies like asparagus, green beans, or pickled onions would be great, too.
Other herbs like chives, basil, tarragon, and mint can be part of this salad.
Creamy cheese like feta, goat cheese or avocado
Crunchy nuts or seeds like toasted pistachios, almonds, or walnuts; or sunflower seeds. Make-Ahead & Storage Tips
I always wash and dry my salad greens as soon as I bring them home from the market. I store them in Vejibags or damp kitchen towels.
Hearty veggies (such as cabbage and radish) can be washed and chopped a day in advance if needed.
This dressing can be made a few days in advance but it cannot be frozen. The dressing keeps for at least a week if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.