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Food for Thought Friday: guide to basic salad dressings + THE BEST lemon vinaigrette
 

Hello friend!

I can't believe I haven't shared this yet - my basic guide for making salad dressings/vinaigrettes! This is/was a fundamental part of my Intuitive Cooking 101 Course, AND it demands to be shared with everyone :)

I firmly believe that making your own salad dressing is one of the FIRST things you should learn as a new (or newly intuitive!) cook. Why? Because:

  1. It's SUPER simple, easy, and fast
  2. You seriously can't mess it up
  3. It's a great way to practice "tasting and adjusting"  to balance flavors to get them just right, AND...
  4. If you're currently using bottled dressings and/or just doing oil and vinegar, making your own just-a-tiny-bit-more-effort dressings is a VERY simple way to REALLY AMP UP your salads/food!
  5. Pro-tip - Dressings are not just for salad! They're a great way to jazz up roasted/sauteed/grilled veggies, or really any other dish you want! Dressings/vinaigrettes are one of the key categories of "sauces" I make most often. (If you've been reading for a while, you know I'm a big fan of sauces as one of the easiest ways to make more delicious meals!)

When I think of a "vinaigrette" - I personally think of:

oil + acid (vinegar or citrus)
+ dijon mustard as the key, emulsifying ingredient

(I thought dijon would be in the definition since the word seems so French, but according to wikipedia: "vinaigrette is made by mixing an oil with something acidic such as vinegar or lemon juice. The mixture can be enhanced with salt, herbs and/or spices.")

If you're not familiar, an emulsifier is simply an ingredient that holds two other ingredients together that usually don't mix, such as oil and vinegar.

An example: your most basic balsamic vinaigrette: olive oil + balsamic vinegar + dijon

All you have to do is put them all in a jar, shake for 10 seconds and BAM - creamy balsamic dressing! The dijon acts as an emulsifier, holding the balsamic and oil together in a "stable" mix.

(For my basic balsamic, I start with 2/3 cup oil, 1/4 cup vinegar, and a teaspoon of dijon and taste/adjust from there.)

By changing up just these three ingredients, you make an infinite variety of vinaigrettes. Most often, I use different kinds of vinegars, a mix of two vinegars, or a combo of vinegar and citrus. You can also play with different mustards and/or different oils.

Expanding from there, away from dijon and into "dressings" - you can add aromatics (one minced garlic clove is my go-to), use a different emulsifier or a combo of them, add a tiny bit of sweetener to balance things out, and even go crazy with fresh herbs, spices or other ingredients.

Dressings are a GREAT place to start experimenting and making things up, intuitively! If you add too much of one thing, simply add a little more of the other ingredients to balance it out. Make a jar of dressing ONCE, and eat delicious salads (and more delicious veggies, bowls, etc) ALL WEEK LONG!

Here's my guide to get you started, plus my FAVORITE lemon vinaigrette recipe (that everyone LOVES and always asks me for the recipe)!


GPJ GUIDE to BASIC VINAIGRETTES/SALAD DRESSINGS:

Rough Ratio: 3 parts oil to 1-2 parts acid
+ emulsifier: mustard, tahini or nut butter, miso, yogurt/sour cream, or another creamy substance

bonus additions:
+ chopped/minced aromatics: garlic/onion/shallot/ginger/other
+ pinch of sweetener to balance out acid
+ herbs: dried or fresh chopped/blended
+ spices

To make about 1 cup dressing, I start with roughly 1 tsp emulsifier + 2/3 cup oil + 1/4-1/2 cup acid(s)


...and now for one of my very favorite dressings that I make usually once a month! Randomly, I also love it on whole-roasted sweet potatoes!


(THE BEST) LEMON VINAIGRETTE
Takes 10 mins, makes about 1 cup of dressing

Ingredients:
  • 1-2 lemons
  • 1-2 small cloves of garlic, minced or pressed
  • about 1.5 teaspoons dijon mustard
  • a tiny pinch of sugar/any other sweetener you like
  • about 1/2 cup olive oil
Instructions:
  1. Mince garlic or use garlic press and add to jar.
  2. Squeeze 1 entire lemon into the jar. Use your finger to mark the top of the lemon juice, then add olive oil to double the volume. Add 1 tsp dijon and pinch of sugar.
  3. Put lid on and shake it up in the jar until well blended. Taste and adjust.
  4. (I usually end up doing 1.5 lemons and 1.5 tsp dijon but adjust to taste!)
  5. Taste it again plain, you can also dip a veggie or piece of lettuce in to taste it, and adjust proportions again as necessary.

PS. This dressing is amazing with meyer lemons if you have access to those!

Here's to making some awesome springy dressings and salads this week!

Happy weekend!

Love,
Jess
All photos are taken by me and recipes written by me, unless otherwise noted.

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