Roasted Red Pepper Parmesan Dressing

Years ago we were at a family gathering, and as I can recall my oldest son really raved about this one dressing in particular that had been served. So being the good mom that I am, eh hem, I went ahead and bought it for him. It’s been awhile and I can’t remember the exact dressing, but it was some kind of roasted red pepper dressing. Of course now I don’t buy bottled dressings, it just isn’t in the budget, and I know I can make it ‘real’ and healthy. Besides in a minute I will show you why I never want to eat store bought dressings again. 

I thought I would go ahead and pick up a store bought roasted red pepper dressing to evaluate it in a video. 

Here are the ingredients as listed on the label; 

water, vinegar, sugar, tomato puree, soybean oil, red bell peppers, salt, parmesan cheese (of the skim milk variety), garlic, red bell peppers, spice, onions, sundried tomatoes, xanthan gum, citric acid, natural flavor, potassium sorbate, calcium disodium EDTA.

An article titled the ‘Ploy of Soy‘ from the Weston A. Price website is a good place to start if you are concerned with further learning of the detriments of soy in food. Another article in which I believe would be a worthy read, discusses the truth in labeling practices and will help you to see that you may be getting hidden things, such as MSG in your foods when you don’t even realize it. 

Here is a recipe for the dressing that was birthed out of this experiment; 

1 roasted red pepper, homemade or store bought

3 Tbsp. fresh basil

1 clove garlic (or more if you like garlic )

1 Tbsp. tomato paste

3 Tbsp. parmesan

1 1/2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar

5 Tbsp. olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 to 1/2 cup of homemade chicken stock (or water)

Puree all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor. Start out with the lesser amount of chicken stock, or water and add more to get it to the consistency you prefer. If you want to use this as a dip or a spread for sourdough toast, use the lesser amount. I also think this dressing would make a great marinade, it kind of reminds me of the flavor of pesto with a twist. It’s yummy, and far better than the watery, sugary store bought stuff. Try it over white beans for a nice side dish to serve with dinner sometime. 

For more in the series I am doing on dressings, check out these posts;

A week of salad dressings

Ginger Vinaigrette

Domestic Goddess Dressing

Carmelized Honey-Balsamic Dressing

This post has been contributed to ‘Monday Mania‘ over at The Healthy Home Economist, as well as ‘Two for Tuesdays Blog Hop‘. For more wisdom from Real Food bloggers be sure to check it out!