Ganja Goddess Dressing with Little Gem Salad

Ingredients:

Ganja Goddess Dressing:

1 clove garlic

2 anchovy fillets in olive oil, drained

1 small avocado, pitted and peeled

1⁄2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1⁄4 cup fresh cannabis leaves, optional

1⁄2 cup packed fresh basil leaves

1⁄4 cup minced fresh chives or green onion

2 tablespoons minced fresh tarragon or chervil

3⁄4 cup buttermilk

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons olive oil*

1–4 tablespoons warm water (or use none at all if you’d prefer to make this a dip instead!)

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Little Gem Salad:

6-8 baby beets or 3-4 larger beets, of similar sizes; red, chioggia (aka candy stripe), and golden

4 different citrus fruits; i.e. blood orange, grapefruit, cara-cara oranges and navel oranges

4 heads of Little Gem or Baby Romaine lettuce, leaves separated, washed, spun and chilled

1 bulb fennel, stalks removed, thinly sliced

Tender fresh herbs such as chives, fennel fronds, chervil or parsley, for garnish

Coarse sea salt, such as Maldon, and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Method:

• To make the dressing:
• Place garlic clove and anchovy fillets in the bowl of a food processor with a pinch of salt and pulse to mince, scraping down the sides once or twice. Next add the avocado, mustard and the cannabis leaves, if using, then pulse another few times to blend. Add the remaining herbs and pulse to combine and chop the basil finely. With the processor running, slowly stream in the buttermilk, lemon juice, oil, and up to 4 tablespoons warm water to reach desired consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Use immediately with your favorite salad or as a dip with crunchy fresh veggies, then transfer the leftovers to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 1 week.
• To infuse this recipe with cannabis, replace 1-2 tablespoons of the olive oil with infused olive oil, depending on desired dosage. ½ teaspoon of cannabis oil is a good starting dose; of course it really depends on the strength of your infused oil. If your oil has a 5-10mg THC/teaspoon strength, you can replace all of the olive oil with infused oil and know that you will have a range of 5-10mg THC dosage per 1-oz (2 tablespoons) serving. Lighten that up if need be!
• To prepare the salad:
• For the beets: Preheat the oven to 375° F. Rinse the beets and trim the tops, leaving about an inch of the stalks on. Place the beets in a shallow baking dish and, when oven is preheated, pour hot water in to the baking dish until the beets are about halfway covered. Seal tightly with foil and place in to the hot oven, cooking for anywhere from 25-40 minutes, depending on the size of your beets, until the largest beet is easily pierced with a knife. Drain the liquid and let the beets cool slightly; it is easiest to peel the beets while they are still warm, with gloves to keep your hands from staining. The skin should easily rub off with your hands or a paper towel if your beets are fully cooked. After they are peeled, cut into wedges and chill until ready to plate.
• For the citrus: Using a sharp knife, cut off a thin slice from the top and bottom of the fruit to expose the flesh. Stand the citrus cut-side down, then use a gentle sawing motion between the pith and flesh, following the contour of the fruit, cutting downward and working your way around until all peel is removed. Slice each fruit crosswise into about ¼-inch thick disks.
• To assemble the salad: Arrange the lettuce leaves in the bottom of either a large shallow serving bowl, or four individual shallow bowls. Layer in the beets, citrus, and the fennel. Garnish with chopped herbs and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Serve with Ganja Goddess Dressing on the side.