Anti-inflammatory Italian Salad Dressing

With many anti-inflammatory ingredients including herbs such as oregano and thyme, celery salt for lympth movement, inflammation soothing flavonoids in red onion, garlic for immune health and cancer-suppressing citrus rinds, this moreish dressing is a great larder ingredient to keep on the ready, so you can drizzle over everything from salads, stews and sauces, to meats and even used as a bread dip. It is extremely versatile, so experiment with different ingredients (my variations suggested at the end of the article)

Ingredients

• 1 cup apple cider vinegar (raw with mother for the probio)

• 1 large yellow onion roughly chopped

• 1 large red onion roughly chopped

• 2 bulbs of garlic (not cloves, bulbs)

• Dried oregano, parsley, thyme, basil - lots (at least 2 tablespoons each - if have kids, then adjust so they can cope)

• 3 lemons - juiced - deseed and chop up rind quite fine so can be blitzed (or if have food processor, grate finely) to include blitzed in the salad dressing

• 3.5 tablespoons (salt preserves the dressing so do not skimp) of celery salt (see notes below)

• Lots of black pepper

• 1.5 cups organic extra virgin cold pressed olive oil (could replace 0.5 cup of that with pumpkin seed oil – very rich in zinc)

Directions

1. Blitz together the first 8 ingredients together (until smoothie like texture)

2. Top with olive oil (and pumpkin seed oil if using)

3. Into large sterilised jar - the salt and apple cider vinegar preserves, so keep in cupboard at room temperature

4. To serve, I mix well with a ladle, then ladle out from bottom, so don't miss out on all the bits that sink down quickly
   

Notes:

• Onion, garlic, herbs, lemon juice and rind are all v anti-inflammatory and anti-infective too - so good against colds and flus – basically like fire cider but salad dressing

• People with low immunity to make this salad dressing then put it on top of everything - from soups and stews to salads to baked potatoes

• Celery salt from shops are low quality, so best to make with powdered celery seed and salt yourself – you can buy organic celery seed powder on the net. I find best proportion is 1 part celery seed powder to 2 parts salt

• I make the amount above and it lasts my family about a month – if you are going away, store in the fridge until you get home

• Nice variations:

  • Fresh turmeric in it - especially good mixed with mayonnaise over cooked veg

  • Fresh ginger

  • Cayenne pepper

  • Lime instead of lemon - add cumin, paprika, fresh coriander to the lime dressing and becomes Mexican style