Our staple dressing is vinaigrette, which is so simple at it's heart that it will make anyone give up the store stuff. Plus, it's then really easy to put your own spin on it with herbs and seasonings. I've even dropped a little spoonful of raspberry jam into it, mixed it together and called it "Raspberry Vinaigrette."
Raspberry Jam? That sounds so low-brow...better just keep it between us, OK?
If you've got vinegar and oil, you can make a dressing. Dijon mustard should become a staple as well, because it just lifts the dressing to new heights (oh, good, that sounds much more high-brow, maybe I can redeem myself). Add a little honey, some garlic and herbs and it's "the bomb, baby!"
I have no idea what that means. Let's just say it's really good.
I have certain jars I've accumulated that are my "dressing jars." I like the shape and the way they look in the fridge and on the table.
However, they aren't the best mouth shape- they're just a little too small- so I need to use a little funnel to fill them, but I'm OK with that. My mother-in-law just reuses bottles from the store, and since there are nice glass bottles now I would say that's a good idea. I'm just trying to stay away from using old plastic for storage (unless it was meant for that, like freezer containers).
Here's my recipe to get you started with some options for customizing at the end:
Pantry Basic Vinaigrette
- 1/3 c. red wine vinegar
- 2 T. Dijon mustard
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp. black pepper
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 2/3-3/4 c. olive oil
- Whisk the first five ingredients together in a 1 or 2-cup measuring glass (or add straight to bottle for storage). Mix well.
- Add the oil (use the smaller amount for more "vinegary" dressing, the larger for a more oil-based one) and whisk until completely combined (it's quicker to make straight in the bottle, but doesn't mix as thoroughly as when whisked- I do either depending on my time-table).
Ta Da! That's it, pretty easy, huh? Here are some ways to "make it yours:"
*Add a teaspoon or two of honey. If you're accustomed to store-bought, you might want to add this to your first batches because there's a lot of sugar in most brands. Then you can "wean" your family from the added sweet, if you want. Or not.
*Add herbs. You can really go wild here, adding only one (call it "Basil Vinaigrette" or whatever herb you like), or a blend like Italian or Herbs de Provence. Again, name it and offer it with flair and your family will be impressed. :-)
*Add a little hot sauce. This might not be for everyone, but we like it, especially over a salad of lettuce, onions, beans, tomatoes, olives and cheese. Sort of quasi-Mexican.
*Substitute lemon juice for the vinegar. This is great for a Greek salad with feta and kalamata olives. Or any salad, really. It also makes a nice marinade for chicken and potatoes.
*Use balsamic or rice vinegar instead of the red wine vinegar. If 1/3 cup of balsamic vinegar seems too much, just do half balsamic and half red wine. The rice vinegar makes a wonderful dressing for a light Asian-inspired slaw of cabbage, carrots, onions, and sesame seeds.
*Add a little pureed fruit. Raspberry vinegar, anyone? How about cranberry? Blackberry? Oh, man, you can really get creative here. Just don't go too wild on me, OK?
I added the jam I mentioned earlier to make a raspberry dressing because I hadn't added any honey to the vinaigrette previously. And since it was just a little more than a teaspoon of jam, I thought it would work. And it did- we liked it.
Well, those of us who tried it. Some others just used up the last of the Kraft ranch dressing...
-Jami
Check out Kitchen Stewardship for more homemade salad dressing recipes.
4 comments: