Pantry Basics: Dried Tomato Vinaigrette

This vinaigrette is quickly becoming a family favorite. And what's not to love about balsamic vinegar, dried tomatoes, garlic, and olive oil?

It's terrific on any regular green salad, but it also is very good on a main dish salad with chicken or shrimp. And feta? Be still my heart.

Another reason I like this dressing is that it is another way to use the tomatoes I dry each summer from the paste tomatoes we harvest from our garden.

I dry them until there is no moisture coming from them, but they are still pliable (not crisp). They don't all get to this stage at once, so I take them out as they finish and add them to a jar and cover them with olive oil. When the jar is full, I make sure all the tomatoes are completely covered with oil and then screw a lid on and put them on a shelf. That's it. They last more than a year this way, but it's very important to NEVER put anything fresh in the jar, like garlic or herbs. If you want to add these fresh ingredients, you need to keep them in the fridge and use them within a few months.

Simple, quick, and uses what we have? This is definitely a recipe for An Oregon Cottage!

For the vinaigrette, you'll need to finely chop enough of these tomatoes to equal 2 tablespoons, and we're going to use some of the tomato-flavored oil as well.

Pour a 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar into a glass measuring cup (I like to use these for recipes like this- measure and mix in one bowl- oh, yeah...) and add a couple cloves of minced garlic.

Now add the chopped dried tomatoes, and some salt and pepper.

Pour a 1/4 cup of the olive oil from the tomatoes into the cup.

Whisk until the oil and vinegar have emulsified. Serve immediately or transfer to a container with a lid to store in the fridge.


Dried Tomato Vinaigrette

• 1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
• 2 T. finely chopped dried tomatoes (packed in olive oil)
• 1/4 c. olive oil (from the tomatoes)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1/4 tsp. salt (or to taste)

1. Combine the vinegar, chopped tomatoes, oil, garlic, salt and pepper in a glass bowl or measuring cup.
2. Stir briskly with a whisk to thoroughly combine the oil and vinegar.

Makes about 1/2 cup

-Jami

This is linked to:

Real Food Wednesday