Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Thousand Island Dressing (Vegan)

This recipe is from the cookbook Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero.

Recipe: see Veganomicon, page 93
Traditional Thousand Island dressing is based around mayonnaise, which isn't vegan because mayonnaise uses eggs. This is a really great copycat recipe that veganizes this classic. It's been five years since I've had Thousand Island, but this is exactly how I remember the better versions of it. And even better since it doesn't have high fructose corn syrup as a major ingredient (most bottled versions of Thousand Island do). I can't stand that weird aftertaste of foods with high fructose corn syrup.

I've made this a few times, and the recipe seems rather flexible. The photo depicts the recipe as written in the book. Personally, I like to cut back on the agave nectar, salt and grapeseed oil to reduce the calories and sodium. That doesn't seem to adversely affect the taste. And I like to use a firm tofu rather than silken. It makes the dressing thicker, and reminds me of the type that some restaurants serve... you know, that big thick heavy Thousand Island... rather than the runny diluted stuff that comes in bottles at the store.

This dressing is only going to survive 3-4 days in the fridge before it starts to turn, so plan on eating lots of salad when you make up a batch, or make a half batch. Great recipe.

Ingredients: silken tofu, ketchup, pickle relish, white vinegar, grapeseed oil, agave nectar, mustard powder, white pepper, salt.