Greek Independence Day is March 25 (the day I post this), so I am sharing a delicious Greek salad dressing that uses two things abundant around our homestead – honey and lemons.

Greeks in The Southwest

There may or may not be many people of Greek descent in the Southwest, I didn’t dive down that rabbit hole. But the Greek certainly helped explore the Americas. For example, up between Washington State and Canada there is the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The Greek explorer, Juan de Fuca sailed the Pacific with the Spanish. In Greek his name was Ioannis Phokas, which we might say “John Fuka” in English. On the other side of the continent, in Clearwater, Florida, there is a statue of Theodor Griego, touted as the first Greek who set foot in the area, back in 1540.

Dressing First – Name Later

We make fresh homemade salad dressing at least twice a week.  It tends to never be the same twice because of our style of cooking (which is not for linear thinkers). We cook along the style of  “some of this, um, oh look, that spice is at the front of the cabinet, I’ll add that.”

Once when lemons were plentiful, I used lemon juice instead of vinegar to make salad dressing. We liked it so much I did it again and again. Then one the time I used standard lemons from the store instead of Meyer lemons my tree. Way too tart. So I added some honey to soften it. Yum. Then we added honey to the dressing with Meyer lemons. Even more yum.

A friend was visiting that day and she was almost in tears as she demanded the name of the dressing that tasted just like her “Nona,” her Greek grandmother, used to make. I gave her the recipe I am sharing with you today. We now call it Nona’s Dressing in honor of a woman we have never met.

Nona’s Greek Salad Dressing

     1/2 cup lemon juice = juice of one medium Meyer Lemon
     1/2 cup olive oil
     2 Tablespoons honey
     1 Tablespoon diced garlic chives or one minced garlic clove
     1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
     1 teaspoon dried peppergrass, lightly ground
          substitute: 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
     1/2 teaspoon salt. Use the iodized. Your thyroid will thank you.

Add all ingredients into a jar with a well fitting lid.
Shake well to combine.
Serve.
Store any left over in the refrigerator.

About the Ingredients

Lemon Juice

Fresh lemons off the tree are best! They give this Greek dressing a bright, tangy flavor. Meyer lemons are sweeter, so you may want to use less honey. If you must, you can use store bought lemons. The one time I made this with bottled lemon juice the flavor was just not right to me. Guess I might be spoiled by eating real food that has no preservatives.

 

Do save your lemon peels (and all citrus peels) for a simple to make cleaning agent.  It’s so easy to make and I have found it to the best all natural cleaner you can use to clean floors and counters.  We have a YouTube about making it.

Olive Oil

We use the high-quality extra-virgin olive oil for dressings. This is not the place for plain “olive oil.” Extra-virgin olive oil is supposed to be a cold-pressed oil. It’s more robust and flavorful than a second pressing, which heats the olive residue from that first “virgin” pressing.

Honey

If you have the option, select from a mildly flavored honey, like “wildflower honey.” The rich flavor of something like acacia or clover honey doesn’t get to shine in this dressing. Honey also acts as an emulsifier. More on emulsifiers below.

Dijon Mustard

Dijon mustard gives the Greek salad dressing a bold, slightly spicy flavor. If you don’t have Dijon or similar mustard, leave it out. Don’t use the yellow stuff in the plastic bottle – it ruins the flavor. You could use 1/4 teaspoon powdered mustard.  Mustard is also an emulsifying agent.

Garlic or Garlic Chives

Raw garlic gives this Greek salad dressing a nice little kick. I prefer using fresh garlic chives chopped fine and added to the dressing. Less of a kick and more of a subtle hint. Don’t have either? You can use 1/8 teaspoon of garlic powder (not garlic salt!).

Peppergrass

Peppergrass is one of the more useful wild growing “weeds” to harvest in spring. (Peppergrass – on our YouTube Channel)  The dried seed pods are indeed peppery in flavor, and can be used in cooking virtually anywhere you might use black pepper in cooking. (Example: Chicken with Lemon Pepper Mexican Oregano Sauce)  Harvesting this pepper condiment locally means less reliance on a crop shipped from thousands of miles away and using fossil fuels to get to our door. Due to their larger size than black pepper, peppergrass pods are not exactly a substitute for the pepper shaker on the table. But they work just fine in this dressing.

Emulsifiers

On their own, oil and vinegar naturally separate, but the addition of one or more emulsifiers helps bind the oily and watery elements together as a cohesive mixture. Emulsifiers contain molecules that have both water-loving and oil-loving properties, allowing them to bind the two liquids.

Common emulsifiers include honey (our favorite), mustard, especially Dijon mustard, and for mayonnaise-based dressings, egg yolks. Any herb, spices, or other seasonings should be added at the beginning of the emulsification process to ensure their flavors are emulsified into the oils and evenly distributed.

Problem Bees?

Bees may be swarming to a new home soon as the weather warms.  Here is how to stay safe. (it’s in Resources section) 

Got problem bees? Monica King does bee hive and swarm removals.   

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