Creamy Paleo Caesar Dressing

I did a little experiment at lunchtime today that proved a great success. I've made Cooking Light's Creamy Caesar Dressing to rave reviews in the past. While a clean recipe, it achieves its creaminess from yogurt. I do sometimes allow a little plain Greek yogurt into my diet, but I wanted to come up with a dairy-free version.

I took the Cooking Light recipe and substituted ripe avocado and a little extra water for the yogurt. While the end result was a bit green and thick (I'm sure it could be further thinned out with more water), the taste was identical to that of the original recipe. The strong flavors of the anchovy, lemon and Worcestershire dominate; the avocado adds creaminess but not taste.

Creamy Caesar Dressing
adapted from Cooking Light

2 tbs. lemon juice
1 tbs. olive oil
2 tsp. red wine vinegar
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce (I used an organic, gluten-free one from Whole Foods)
1 tsp. anchovy paste
1 tsp. dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 minced garlic clove
1/2 ripe avocado & 3-4 tbs. water

Combine all ingredients in a blender until smooth.

For our lunch today I grilled some chicken and cooked up some crispy bacon to provide a nice crunch often provided in a caesar thanks to croutons. I diced up the remaining avocado as well, and did shave some fresh parmesan to finish things off (omit if you want to be completely dairy-free).