Roquefort Dressing – The Old-Fashioned Kind
Most Saturday mornings, my mom made Roquefort Dressing for that evening when my aunts and uncles would come over for a cookout. That salad dressing was everyone’s favorite. Of course, this was before blenders and stand-up mixers, so it took some effort. And it had to be Roquefort cheese – not its more popular cousin, blue cheese.
Last Saturday I found myself suddenly craving throwing something on the grill and serving it with a big salad with that fabulous dressing. The dressing was basically a French oil and vinegar dressing with the addition of a few spices and, of course, the cheese, which was not blended in but crumbled in and shaken vigorously. I could visualize the recipe in my mother’s distinctive, back-slanting handwriting. The problem was that I couldn’t find it. I have her entire recipe box, which I had reorganized. I had my old college cookbook I made when I went to Rhodes. I spent hours looking. I was about to give up when I saw my copy of Sadie Lesure’s first cookbook sitting on the kitchen counter. If you are not from Nashville or just a youngster, you will not know that women of my mother’s generation and her mother before her relied on that cookbook like it was the Bible. With a bit of trepidation, I found a recipe for A French Salad dressing, but no mention of Roquefort cheese. I turned the page and there it was – Roquefort Salad Dressing! The recipe called for 2 cups of the aforementioned French dressing with a point of Roquefort cheese. Yes, a point. Measurements were weird in older cookbooks. Canned goods were identified by numbers, not ounces. I am used to some oddities, but this one was new. That meant that I did what my mother probably did and just made a guess! When you make this (and you should!), you can play around with amounts. My other favorite part of this recipe – and it is actually a good thing – is that you slice an onion in half and leave it in the dressing until ready to serve. It really does give it a great taste. Friends, it’s definitely salad weather. Make this soon. Enjoy!
Roquefort Dressing
Ingredients:
1 cup olive oil
½ cup white wine vinegar or white Balsamic vinegar
Juice of one lemon
½ tsp paprika
¼ tsp dry mustard
1 tsp sugar
About ½ tsp each salt and pepper (taste – you can always add more)
1 “point” Roquefort cheese (2-3 oz)
1 onion halved
Directions:
Combine all ingredients except cheese and onion in the container of a blender. Blend to thoroughly combine.Add about an ounce of cheese and blend. Pour into a jar and crumble in the rest of the cheese. Give the jar a few hard shakes. Add the onion and store in the fridge until ready to serve. Remove the onion before serving.
A note on salad greens: My mom did not have access to the gorgeous lettuces we can acquire now, so her go-to was just a good head of iceberg lettuce. I like Romaine, but please experiment. Leftover dressing was also excellent on a tomato and basil salad! Add toppings as desired.
