Cilantro Honey Lime Dressing

The other day at work, my co-worker was raving about some cilantro salad dressing she had the night before. Having left over flank steak and a bunch of cilantro in my fridge, I went home from work inspired to try out a new dressing recipe. After scouring the internet for a few minutes, many recipes I found were pretty simple, but I opted for one with a few more ingredients including ginger, lime, and honey. It turned out flavorful with a great balance of sweetness, acidity, spice, and cilantro-ness that wasn't too overpowering for the cilantro haters in the house (I am not one of them!). 

Lime, ginger, jalapeno, and garlic

It also came in perfectly handy that my friend Phuong, who provided the photos taken on the few previous posts, just gave us a citrus juicer as a thank you for our Greek feast we had him over for. Check it out below, it works like magic for lemons and limes!

Limes for juicing

Cilantro Honey-Lime Dressing

Ingredients

            1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped

            1 clove garlic

            3/4 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root

            1/4 cup lime juice

            1/3 cup honey

            2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

            1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

            1/4 cup packed cilantro leaves

            1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Directions

Place the jalapeno pepper, garlic clove, and ginger into a food processor or blender; pulse until the jalapeno and garlic are finely chopped. Pour in the lime juice, honey, balsamic vinegar, and salt, add the cilantro leaves; pulse a few times to blend. Turn the food processor or blender on, and slowly drizzle in the olive oil until incorporated into the dressing. Season to taste with salt before serving.

*I used a tad less honey and a bit more cilantro, so adapt to your personal liking. 

As for my monster salad creation, I included corn, avocado, tomatoes, yellow bell pepper, black beans, Cotija cheese, flank steak, and romaine. Go for whatever you have, but this made for a really bright and delicious mix. You'll have lots of leftover dressing for another dinner too :)