The World of Dressings: Vinaigrettes

For the long majority of my life, I lived in full belief that all dressings came from bottles. I didn’t know/care what was inside; they were always creamy sauces and one note flavors. I wasn’t a salad fan and only ate them when I realized my mom would carry through on her promise to keep me at the table until I ate my greens.

It wasn’t until much later that I tasted other dressings, realized that the large number of preservatives in the bottles weren’t the best for me, and found so many other delicious flavors. I wouldn’t say that salads are my favorite part of a meal but they keep me healthy and they are usually a balance that makes the meal whole.

Put a kitchen towel under your bowl
when you whisk, it will prevent your
bowl from slipping around and frees your
other hand to slowly drip your oil of choice
into your dressing, YAY emulsification!

For me, a good salad has many components: good crunchy leaves, soft cheese, some sort of protein and maybe perhaps some sort of topping like nuts or dried fruit. But it is the dressing that brings it all together. It provides its character and defines its place in the meal. A steak with a salad can be many things but if the salad is a creamy, thick garlic affair it is a different meal than a steak with a light spring, lemony salad. Both meals can hit the spot but both are completely different.

Dressings aren’t difficult to make. Mix up 1 part acid to three parts oil for a nice vinaigrette. I enjoy the whisk, some enjoy the jam jar (so they can give it a little shake and shoot it into the fridge when they are done). You could use lemon juice, balsamic, apple cider vinegar, wine vinegars, orange juice, etc. You could pair it with olive oils, hazelnut oils, sesame oils or rapeseed oil (canola oil). Additions could be made like a bit of yoghurt, herbs or roasted garlic. The options are endless and can immediately drum up a meal.

Here are a few classic vinaigrettes. 

Remember two things: The recipes are just guidelines so feel free to adjust the acid or oil to suite your tastes (or if the other parts of the meal are heavy try a lighter dressing), and always mix the salad and dressing together at the last minute.

Lemon Vinaigrette 

6 tbsp olive oil 

2 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice (about 1 lemon) 

pinch of salt and pepper

Balsamic Vinaigrette 

6 tbsp olive oil 

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar 

pinch of salt and pepper

French dressing 

½ clove garlic, minced 

1 tsp Dijon 

2 tbsp white or red wine vinegar 

6 tbsp olive oil 

pinch of salt and pepper

Bringing it all together: Leftovers Salad

Mixed greens (lettuce, spinach, dill leaves)

Roasted chicken (leftovers from last night's dinner)

Trail mix (nuts and cranberries only, NO M&Ms people), chopped up

Feta cheese, crumbled

Dressing:

½ clove garlic, minced

1½ tsp Whole grain mustard

2½ tbsp lemon juice

6 tbsp olive oil

pinch of salt and pepper

Method:

• Whisk or shake up the dressing.
• Dress the lettuce leaves with the dressing and plate.
• Top each plate with layers of the rest of the ingredients and eat immediately.

The dressing is similar to a French dressing but more acidic to balance the rich roasted chicken and nuts. Plus I didn't have Dijon or white wine vinegar in my cupboard at the time!