One Great . . . salad dressing

We're coming into the season when salads get really great. Great lettuce, great cucumbers, great radishes, and great tomatoes getting closer.

So why glop it up with bottled salad dressings? If you're going for something creamy, it's easier and it tastes better to make your own. There are a reason classics like Green Goddess have been classics for decades. They have so much flavor, you don't need to use very much.

Green Goddess, for instance, isn't just incredible when you toss it with salad ingredients, you can do things like use it as a base for chicken or seafood salads. Try it with leftover grilled salmon.

I've tweaked this version a little over the years, particularly swapping convenient anchovy paste for anchovy fillets. Don't skip it, though -- a little bit packs a major hit of flavor that balances out the herbs and mayonnaise.

Green Goddess Dressing

1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley (mostly leaves but a few stems are OK)
1/4 cup minced fresh chives
2 tablespoons green onion tops, diced
1 1/2 teaspoons anchovy paste
1 teaspoon vinegar, preferably white wine or sherry
1/4 teaspoon minced garlic (about 1 small clove)

Place all the ingredients in a food processor. Puree until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula. Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 4 days. If it's too thick to toss with a salad, thin it with a little lemon juice or water if you like.

Yield: About 2 cups.