Delia Smith Blue Cheese Dressing Recipe

This rich Delia Smith Blue Cheese Dressing is made with crumbled Roquefort or Gorgonzola, soured cream, mayonnaise, garlic, mustard powder, lemon juice, and white wine vinegar. The result is a thick, punchy dressing with real chunks of blue cheese that works on everything from crisp cos lettuce to a steak salad. It takes about 10 minutes to make and serves 4–6.

I make this whenever we have people round for a barbecue. It’s the one dressing that always gets asked about, and it’s the reason I now keep a block of Gorgonzola in the fridge at all times.

Delia Smith Blue Cheese Dressing Ingredients

• The Dressing Base:
  • 1 clove garlic (or 2 small cloves if you like it stronger)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 rounded teaspoon mustard powder
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons groundnut oil (or other flavourless oil)
  • Freshly milled black pepper
• The Creamy Part:
  • 75ml soured cream
  • 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
  • 3 spring onions, finely chopped
  • 75g blue cheese (Roquefort or Gorgonzola), crumbled

How to Make Delia Smith Blue Cheese Dressing

1. Crush the garlic: Place the garlic clove and salt in a pestle and mortar. Crush together until you have a smooth, creamy paste.
2. Add the mustard: Add the mustard powder and work it in with circular movements for about 20 seconds.
3. Add the liquids: Add the lemon juice, white wine vinegar, and then the groundnut oil. Mix everything together thoroughly.
4. Combine the cream mixture: In a separate bowl, combine the soured cream and mayonnaise. Gradually whisk this into the garlic and oil mixture until the dressing is smooth and fully blended.
5. Add cheese and onions: Stir in the chopped spring onions and the crumbled blue cheese. Season with freshly milled black pepper. The cheese should stay in small chunks, not be mashed smooth.
6. Serve: Spoon generously over crisp salad leaves or serve in a jug on the side.

What Makes This Delia Smith Blue Cheese Dressing So Good?

• Use a gutsy cheese: Delia is clear on this. A subtle, mild blue cheese will get lost among the garlic, mustard, and vinegar. You need something strong like Roquefort or Gorgonzola Piccante. Don’t waste this recipe on a faint-hearted cheese.
• Crumble, don’t blend: The blue cheese goes in at the end and gets stirred, not whisked. You want visible chunks in the dressing, not a smooth blue paste.
• Soured cream keeps it light: The combination of soured cream and mayonnaise gives body without making it heavy. Using all mayonnaise would make the dressing claggy and too thick.
• The pestle and mortar matters: Crushing the garlic into the salt creates a smooth paste that dissolves into the dressing. If you just mince the garlic, you’ll get raw chunks that hit you unevenly.
• Groundnut oil, not olive oil: Delia uses a flavourless oil for the base so the blue cheese is the star. Extra virgin olive oil would compete with the cheese and make the dressing taste muddled.

What Goes Well With This?

This is a proper American-style dressing that works best on sturdy leaves. Toss it through a cos lettuce wedge, baby gem halves, or a simple iceberg salad with crispy bacon. It’s also brilliant drizzled over grilled chicken or as a dip for raw celery and carrot sticks at a party.

For a full salad course, serve it alongside Delia’s Caesar salad and potato salad for a spread that covers all bases.

How Long Does It Keep?

Store in a screw-top jar or covered bowl in the fridge for up to 3 days. The flavour actually develops and gets better after a few hours as the cheese softens into the dressing. Give it a good stir before serving.

Do not freeze this dressing. The soured cream and mayonnaise will split when thawed.

Nutrition Facts

• Calories: 220 kcal
• Fat: 21g
• Carbohydrates: 2g
• Protein: 4g

Nutrition information is estimated per serving (based on 6 servings).

Frequently Asked Questions

Try More Recipes:

• Delia Smith Caesar Salad Recipe
• Delia Smith Couscous Salad Recipe
• Delia Smith Rice Salad Recipe