GREEN GODDESS DRESSING (original dressing recipe, about 4 cups)
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The Gourmet Cookbook reports that “three English travelers whose plane has crashed in the mountains of the fictional Asian kingdom of Rukh are taken hostage by the rajah. His subjects believe that the Green Goddess has sent these unlucky three to take the place of his three brothers, who are about to be executed in India by the British. Will the hostages be rescued? Will the beautiful Englishwoman spurn the rajah’s advances? Will the butler save the day or be hurled to his death? The Green Goddess, a melodrama written by the Scottish drama critic and playwright William Archer in 1920, starred the great British actor George Arliss as the rajah. During the play’s run in San Francisco, Arliss stayed at the Palace Hotel, and the chef (Philip Roemer, at the Palm Court Restaurant) there created this creamy, green-hued dressing in his honor.”
For the dressing:
10 fillets of anchovy, finely cut
1 green onion, finely sliced
½ cup chopped parsley
2 tablespoons finely cut tarragon
¼ cup finely cut chives
3 cups mayonnaise flavored with 2 tablespoons tarragon vinegar
For the salad:
1 clove garlic, peeled and halved
1 medium head romaine
1 medium head Boston lettuce
½ medium bunch chicory
1. Make the green goddess dressing: Combine all of the dressing ingredients. Let stand to mellow at least an hour before using (Dressing will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a week. It is very good for all seafood and fish dishes, in addition to salad.)
2. Assemble the salad: Rub a large wooden salad bowl well with garlic; discard garlic. Break greens into bowl in bite-size pieces and drizzle in about 1 cup dressing. Toss lightly, then if each leaf doesn’t glisten nicely with dressing, drizzle in a little more dressing and toss again. Taste, and if the greens don’t seem properly dressed, add a bit more dressing and toss again. The flavor of the dressing should not overpower that of the greens, but the salad shouldn’t seem anemic, either.
adapted from James Beard, American Cookery
NOTE: If you want the dressing to be greener than the original, blend it in a food processor, adding more chives, parsley and tarragon, if necessary, until you reach the desired hue.