Homemade vinaigrette
A classic vinaigrette (salad dressing) is typically a mixture of two-thirds oil and one-third acid, like vinegar or lemon juice. Here is a delicious recipe from @HeleenMeyer, to add to your repertoire. She says, playing with seasonings like lemon rind, mustard, herbs and spices makes it easy to have a different flavour profile every time you make this dressing. Different herbs will all lend different flavours. By making your own dressing, you know exactly what is in it, rather than a shop-bought version that can be very salty or even contain more sugar than you may realise.
A light and fresh dressing, seasoned with mustard, herbs and lemon juice, like in this recipe is perfect for a fresh green salad or lightly steamed green veggies. Adding a spice like ground cumin to the dressing makes it perfect to use with lentils, chickpeas or any other beans or legumes in a salad. It’s even delicious with a pearled wheat or bulgur salad and with roasted butternut or cauliflower. See the variation below.
Quality ingredients for a quality dressing
Using a good quality oil is non-negotiable. Choose between olive, avocado or any nut oil you enjoy cooking with. The type of vinegar will also add different tones to the dressing, so be creative with the different options. Apple cider vinegar is very delicate, while grape or wine vinegar has a slightly more prominent flavour. The colour of the dressing will also be determined by the vinegar you choose. A fruity vinegar, like raspberry vinegar, is absolutely amazing with a fresh salad including seasonal fruit, like berries, apples or nectarines, and grapes in summer. Heleen says, spirit vinegar is too harsh and will overpower all the other delicate flavours in a vinaigrette like this, so she recommends to rather avoid using that.
More ways to use it
Pour the vinaigrette over your favourite salad, toss cooked baby potatoes in the skin, in it for a quick potato salad or add it to a chicken salad. A tasty vinaigrette can even be used as a marinade for chicken, pork, steak, fish or to season roasted veggies. Prepare a double batch of the dressing and store it in a sterilised jar in the fridge to use it in a variety of ways.
Vinaigrette with mustard and herbs
Image by Adel Ferreira, for LiG Tydskrif
Makes about 250 ml
125 ml (½ cup) olive oil
60 ml (¼ cup) apple or white grape vinegar
20 ml (4 tsp) wholegrain mustard
30 ml (2 tbsp) honey
30 ml (2 tbsp) fresh thyme leaves or chopped Italian parsley
salt and pepper to taste
- Whisk the oil, vinegar, mustard and honey together until well blended. Stir in the herbs and season to taste.
- Keep salad dressing in a clean glass jar and refrigerate. Remember that the oil may set in the fridge, which could look a bit strange, but once taken from the fridge, it will become liquid again very quickly.
Variation: (the second jug in the image)
Substitue the mustard with 15 ml (1 tbsp) finely grated lemon rind, 10 ml (2 tsp) ground cumin and 2,5 ml (½ tsp) ground cinnamon. Use 45 ml (3 tbsp) fresh chopped corander leaves and 20 ml (4 tsp) fresh, chopped mint leaves as the herbs in this version.
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