Buttermilk Ranch Sauce

Ingredients

• 140 g good-quality plain mayonnaise
• 140 ml plain buttermilk
• 60 g full-fat crème fraîche
• 2 tsp dried chives
• 2 tsp dried parsley
• 1 tsp dried dill
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp ground celery seeds
• 1/2 tsp ground sweet paprika
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 15 ml lemon juice
• 2 pinches fine salt
• 1 pinch ground black pepper

Method

1. Put the mayonnaise and crème fraîche in a chilled bowl. Whisk until you have a perfectly smooth, glossy base with no lumps.
2. Gradually whisk in the buttermilk. The sauce should become supple, coating, and creamy; fluid enough to run slowly off a spoon, yet thick enough to cling to a lettuce leaf or vegetable stick.
3. Add the mustard, lemon juice, garlic powder, onion powder, ground celery seeds, paprika, salt, and pepper. Whisk until the powders are completely dispersed and no dry residue remains on the sides of the bowl.
4. Add the dried chives, parsley, and dill. Stir with a spatula rather than a whisk to distribute the herbs well without breaking them down further.
5. Taste the sauce. It should be creamy, lightly tangy, and herbaceous, with a gentle base of garlic and onion. Adjust only with a small touch of salt, lemon, or buttermilk if needed.
6. Cover and refrigerate for at least thirty minutes. This rest is essential: the herbs rehydrate, the garlic and onion mellow, and the texture thickens slightly.
7. Stir gently before serving. If the sauce has thickened too much in the cold, loosen it with a splash of buttermilk until it is coating and creamy again.

Nutrition

Per serving

Energy

394.2 kcal

Protein

1.56 g

Carbohydrate

2.91 g

Fat

42.64 g

Fibre

1.09 g

Calcium

24.6 mg

Iron

0.44 mg

Magnesium

5.72 mg