CILANTRO PEPITA DRESSING & DIP

This recipe is featured in "Low-Carbing Among Friends - Volume 5" on page 127

CILANTRO PEPITA DRESSING & DIP
1 medium Anaheim chile, roasted peeled and seeded, 3 ounces *
2 tablespoons pepitas, roasted **
1 clove garlic
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 ounces oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 ounce Cotija or freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 bunch cilantro, stemmed, about 2 cups
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon water

Chop off the tough bottom stems of the bunch of cilantro; place the leafy tops in a large colander. Pick out any of the tougher stems that you find as well as any shriveled leaves and debris. Run cold water over the cilantro to remove any dirt, swishing it around under the water to clean completely. It's ok to keep all the smaller stems. They will be pureed anyway. There's also no need to dry the cilantro. Just shake off any excess water.

Put everything but the cilantro, mayonnaise and water in a food processor. Process about 10 seconds. Add the cilantro in batches and pulse until the dressing is smooth. Add the mayonnaise and water to the food processor and pulse a few times to blend. Chill before using.

Makes about 2 cups
Do not freeze

* Click here to learn how to roast chiles.

** Pepitas are shelled pumpkin seeds. Roast them in the oven or toaster oven at 350?about 5 minutes until they start to brown and pop. Don't let them burn.

Per Tablespoon: 94 Calories; 10g Fat; 1g Protein; 1g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; .5g Net Carbs
Per 2 Tablespoons: 188 Calories; 20g Fat; 2g Protein; 1g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 1g Net Carb
Per 1/4 Cup: 375 Calories; 40g Fat; 3g Protein; 2g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 1.5g Net Carbs

If you like cilantro, you'll love this. It would be nice on a taco or fajita salad or as a dip. It's so good that I'll be trying to think of things to put it on. I used parmesan cheese in mine and it worked fine. I'm a bit curious to find out why this will only keep for 3 days. I'll check it in 3 days and see if it looks any different. The only thing I can think of is that the bright green color will become brownish. I doubt if it would spoil in such a short time, but it might not look as nice.

UPDATE: I've removed the comment about it only keeping for 3 days. I've had mine a week now and it's still just fine. The color is still nice and green too. I want to add that I just finally finished the last of it and after 11 days, it was still perfect. It's wonderful over chicken fajita or taco salad. I've also adjusted the amount of vinegar from 2 tablespoons to 3 tablespoons and decreased the water by 1 tablespoon. It gives it a little more zip.

This makes a very nice dip for Jalape駉 Poppers.

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