Make Ahead

Roberta's Roasted Garlic Dressing

by:
October  9, 2017
5
5 Ratings
Photo by Julia Gartland
  • Makes 1 1/2 cups
Author Notes

Adapted from Roberta's Cookbook. —Food52

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Ingredients
  • 1 head garlic, with 1 clove peeled and set aside
  • 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon (190 ml) extra-virgin olive oil, plus a splash for the garlic
  • 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 5 anchovy fillets
  • Juice of 1/2 lemon, plus more if needed
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
  1. Heat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Cut 1/4 inch (6mm) off the head of garlic and place the head, cut side up, on a big square of aluminum foil. Give it a splash of water and a splash of olive oil. Bring the corners of the foil up over the garlic to make a loosely wrapped little package. Bake for about 45 minutes. Remove the garlic from the oven and let it cool in the foil. Squeeze the roasted garlic out of 4 or 5 cloves and save the rest to spread on grilled bread with salted butter.
  2. Put the roasted garlic, the raw garlic, clove, mustard, vinegars, egg yolks, anchovies, and lemon juice into a blender or food processor and blend for 30 seconds or until combined.
  3. With the machine running, add the olive oil in a slow, stead stream until it's incorporated and the dressing looks smooth. Taste and add salt, pepper, and more lemon juice as desired. The dressing will keep for a week in the refrigerator.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

23 Reviews

The T. August 31, 2023
This is amAzing!!!!! I didn’t skip or skimp on any ingredients. Luscious, creamy, full of umami. This is going to be a staple in my fridge from now on. Terrific as a salad dressing, smeared on fish before grilling and as an addition to whipped feta dip for crudités. Think Garlic bread! Dipping sauce for beef! In a white sauce for pasta. Thank you thank you thank you!
Kate H. April 4, 2019
Made this dressing last night - I left out the anchovies and used meyer lemons. SO GOOD. I can't wait to try to riff on this in the future - has anyone tried adding fresh herbs like cilantro?
Luciana January 9, 2019
Sounds amazing - this dressing has all of my loves in it. Awesome to see another dressing with anchovies (besides caesar)!
Sheri D. June 6, 2018
I made this dressing the other day and it's delicious especially when you allow it to sit in the frig the day before. I made pasta with pan roasted tomatoes and wilted arugula and put the dressing on it. I didn't need to add any salt and use white pepper instead of black. This will be one of my go to dressing.
cosmiccook February 17, 2018
I just received some black garlic paste while I know the color may be off-putting will it work?
Catrin February 13, 2018
Excellent, really delicious. Served on a warm roasted vegetable salad, mixed with barley for heft. Used the Serious Eats method for emulsifying mayo with immersion blender— less than one minute to perfection.
Michael A. December 18, 2017
I left out the mustard (not a flavor I was looking for, neither was mayo) and used the Worcestershire sauce. Brilliant. A few drops of blood orange bitters made little difference, but I liked adding them at the table with great ceremony for all to see. My guests really thought the bitters were the secret to the dressing.
cosmiccook December 16, 2017
I have an "aioli" recipe from Bon Appetite https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/lemon-aioli-232884 that I would adapt for this--this sounds wonderful Can't wait to try it.
Miss_Karen December 6, 2017
You can use a little bit of BITTERS instead of anchovies. Worcestershire sauce works too.
tastysweet November 19, 2017
If I am reading this recipe correctly, the sauce really only uses the 4 or 5 of the roasted garlic and the 1 raw one?
Could one just roast the 5 cloves?
cookinalong November 19, 2017
I always have a container of peeled garlic cloves in the fridge because we use so much of it and it's a time saver. Can I sub those, or does roasting in the skin add something?
Dalden M. November 18, 2017
Parmesean Peppercorn with the roasted garlic, is great. Mayo, sour cream, mustard,splash of vinegar, balsamic perhaps, it all works to make something that everyone will love.
Cathlyne C. November 18, 2017
Egg yolks are an emulsifier. You can leave them out and the only issue would be that it might separate. dijon mustard about 1 tsp might work or lecithin (I am not sure how much). Commercial mayo would work also. If you have a sous vide, you can pasteurize your eggs and use them "raw" safely. I have also seen pasteurized fresh eggs in the grocery store but I live in a big city. I hope these options help.
Barbara H. November 18, 2017
I agree with subbing Mayo for the egg yolks; however, the "Just Mayo" mayonnaise is made without eggs (it's vegan) and replaces them with powdered peas (no, really!). It's actually very good jarred mayo. I have long used a Cesar Salad dressing made with mayo subbed in for the egg yolks. Works wonderfully.
Rosalind P. November 18, 2017
flaxseed is a good substitute. has binding protein 1 T flaxseed, 2.5 T water.
Add flaxseed meal and water to a dish and stir. Let rest for 5 minutes to thicken. Add to recipes in place of 1 egg.
marynn November 4, 2017
I made this last night to accompany an English Roast pot roast and people practically bathed in it. Crazy amazingly fabulous!

For the folks with egg issues, might you sub in whipped aquafaba? Just a thought...

(Hubs is immuno compromised and I just spaced the yolk issue!)
Anne E. November 3, 2017
Anything I can substitute for the anchovies? Allergic!
amanda R. November 7, 2017
Seconding this question! It's not an ingredient I typically have on hand.
Lauren November 18, 2017
Try a small dab of miso paste. Really you're looking to add a salty umame kick, so miso should do the trick.
Lori W. November 19, 2017
You can use fish sauce as a replacement.
Kitspy November 3, 2017
How can I get around the egg yolks? Just omit and make peace with
a less creamy dressing? I'm immunosuppressed and prefer not to chance it.
radhaks November 3, 2017
recognizing this is not my recipe, looking at the ingredients, I was gonna try leaving out the egg yolks and maybe add a bit more oil, if needed. I've made a similar dressing without a recipe and it turned out great....so hopefully would work w the adj noted above.
Paula November 3, 2017
I would try substituting mayo. Maybe 1 Tbl per yolk, although I would start with one Tbl and increase as needed for body in the dressing. (I've subbed this in a few things calling for eggs since may is basically oil and egg.) I also have to be careful about certain raw ingredients.