Extreme BLT’s with Green Goddess Dressing

When I first made this sandwich for my family—I asked my husband if he wanted a “test” bite.  “Whoa!” he pronounced, “that’s goood!”  My teenage son walked by, took a look, said “Yum!” “That’s extreme…” and hence, gave us the name for our version of this classic.

I love idiot-proof recipes—8 people for lunch?  Double this.  Casual supper by the pool?  Slice some watermelon, make a platter of these, chill the wine or iced tea and relax.  Too hot to cook?  You get the idea…and time for a nap.

Extreme BLT’s with Green Goddess Dressing

Ingredients:

1 recipe Green Goddess dressing
4 slices of any good, sturdy, rustic bread
1 garlic clove, peeled and halved
12 strips of bacon, cooked until just crisp
1 small bunch of arugula, rinsed and dried
½ sweet onion, (I used Vidalia), peeled and sliced thinly into 12 slices
2 ripe avocados, pitted, peeled and sliced into 12 slices
2 medium tomatoes, thinly sliced into 12 slices
2 teaspoons of olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Toast each slice of bread.  While still warm, rub the cut side of a garlic clove over the surface of the bread and place the slices on a plate or platter.  Spread about a tablespoon and a half of the green goddess dressing on each piece of toast, and then layer 3 strips of bacon, several leaves of arugula, 3 onion slices, 3 avocado slices and top with 3 slices of tomato.

Drizzle ½ teaspoon of olive oil over each sandwich and sprinkle with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Green Goddess Dressing:

½ cup mayonnaise
½ cup sour cream
¼ cup tarragon vinegar
¼ cup fresh parsley, minced
1 tablespoon of fresh tarragon, minced
4 anchovy fillets, drained and minced
3 green onions, minced

Stir together all of the ingredients until well combined.  This consistency is great for sandwiches, if you’d like to use any leftover dressing on a salad, you might like to whisk a tablespoon or so of heavy cream into the dressing to thin it a bit.