Servings: 1 cup
Tools Used in this Recipe
- Cutting Board
- Chef Knife
- pounder for garlic (or use back of knife)
- lemon squeezer
- hand (immersion) blender and blender cup
- Container for pouring and storing
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb tomatoes preferably from a Farmers Market, heirloom, or on the vine
- 2–4 cloves garlic outer paper removed and germ removed
- 6 green olives, preferably Castelvetrano rinsed and pitted; see note below for reduced salt method
- 4–6 tbls lemon juice juice from 2 lemons
Instructions
- Gather the ingredients: tomatoes, olives, garlic and lemons.
- The small grape and cherry tomato varieties can be put in the blender cup without chopping. For larger tomatoes, rough chop them. 1/2 lb makes about 1 cup chopped.
- Remove the pit from the rinsed olives. No need to be fussy since they will be blended; a light-medium tap with a pounder (too much force can break the pit) (see photo above) or tap with back of a chef knife works great too.
- Remove the paper skin from the garlic cloves. A light tap with the pounder or the the back of a knife will release the papery skin too.
- Remove germ from the garlic clove. Cut the clove in half lengthwise and pull the germ out, it usually releases easily.
- Place the tomatoes in the blender (whole if small, chopped if larger). Add the olives, 1 or 2 garlic cloves.
- Before blending, wrap a paper towel around the top of the blender cup around the stick part so the tomatoes don't spatter out.
- Start blending with a pulsing blend (turn on a couple seconds, off, then on again). Continue blending until well-blended and pretty smooth. Taste it to see if you want more garlic or olives. Sometimes tomato pieces get caught in the blender blade dome. A light tap on the bottom or the side of the blender cup will release those pieces.If dressing is really thick, remove the blender and stir in the lemon juice with a fork to get the consistency to dress the salads, noodle dishes and drizzled on vegetables.If it is still pretty loose you can blend in the lemon juice with the blender.
- The oil-free tomato dressing is ready to dress and brighten your dishes. Pictured in the last photo above, #9, with our Castelvetrano Olive, Tomato & Noodle Salad.
- Oil-free tomato dressing will store well in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Glass containers with tight fitting lid is preferred for storing.
Notes
To reduce the salt content from the brined olives, place the rinsed and pitted olives in a jar with a tight fitting lid, add filtered water, and shake. Let soak for about 5 min, then drain the liquid. If you still find them too salty, repeat the process. Drain the water and olives are ready to use.