Vinaigrette

The simplest salad dressing is vinaigrette, made with oil and vinegar. You’ll want good quality ingredients; extra virgin olive oil will serve you well, and for vinegar good choices include red or white wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar or sherry vinegar.

 

There is an old saying that it takes four people to do this: a spendthrift for the oil, a miser for the vinegar, a wise man for the salt and a madman to mix it all up.

 

You’ll be well served to keep in mind the ratio of 3 to 4 parts oil to 1 part vinegar; the precise formula depends upon your ingredients and the arbiter is your taste. Remember to always add the vinegar first because once the lettuce leaves are coated with oil the vinegar will not adhere to them.

 

Instructions:

You can make vinaigrette directly on the salad:

 

▪ Add about one teaspoon vinegar for every tablespoon of oil you plan to use and toss.

 

▪ Pour a tablespoon or two of the oil on the salad and toss to coat all the leaves well. Taste and adjust.

 

▪ Sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss, taste and adjust.

 

You can also make the vinaigrette separately:

 

This method enables you to add other flavorings to the vinaigrette, but more is less here so start with a small amount and taste before adding more. This will make about ¼ cup of vinaigrette, enough for a 4 to 6 person sized salad, but you can scale this to make as much or as little as you want. You can store any extra in a covered glass container in the refrigerator, but it’s best to stick with just mustard, oil and vinegar if you plan to keep it around a while.

 

▪ Put 1 tablespoon wine vinegar in a small bowl or glass jar.

 

▪ Mix in ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard.

 

▪ Mix in 3 to 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and taste.

 

▪ Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper and taste.

 

The mixing can be done with a fork, small wire whisk, or by securing a tight cover on a jar and shaking it. Be sure to re-mix or shake the vinaigrette just before you add it to your salad. As you may have noticed, oil and vinegar do not readily combine and will separate from each other when left to sit.

 

Other additions to your vinaigrette might include:

 

Garlic – start with a small piece of a clove, smashed, minced, mixed well with a pinch of salt and added to the vinegar.

 

Fresh herbs – Parsley, basil and chives make good additions. Pick one or more, mince them and add them last.

 

Lemon juice – You can replace some of the vinegar with lemon juice or simply use lemon juice instead of vinegar.