How to Make a Proper Salad Dressing
This is the LBD of salad dressings.
By Erin Henderson
I’m a salad person.
Not in that hot-girl way of picking at a few lettuce leaves and immediately proclaiming I’m full; in the hearty, overflowing, get-in-my-belly, give-me-all-the-fibre way.
I include salads in every meal I eat. Grounded with grains, bejeweled by beans, speckled with seasonal herbs, or rested on root vegetables, I work a salad bowl the way Michelangelo worked marble.
Related: Wine Pairings for Any Salad Dressing
Depending on the creation, dressings may range from creamy and rich to light and acidic. But my go-to, the one I always have on hand, is a basic preparation that’s the workhorse of my salad prep.
A basic red wine (or white wine) vinaigrette is the little black dress of salads. Leave it as is for tangy delight. Add in a few herbs for a little extra zing. A little citrus zest to keep things interesting. Whatever you want. Or don’t.
It’s your salad bowl. We’re just eating it.
Related: Classic Bistro Salad
Proper Salad Dressing
I’ve been making this dressing for so many years I don’t even measure it anymore; just go with an eyeball of what looks about right. These measurements will work though if you’re trying it out for the first time. To taste, dip a fresh lettuce leaf in the dressing and eat it. It’s the best way to know if it will taste good on your salad. Adjust as necessary to your own tastes, but remember to start light and build up – you can always add but you can’t take away.
I’m sure you’ve seen buttoned-up chefs on Food Network or The Bear or some such whisking the oil in a thin stream to the vinegar until emulsified. If you want to don your chef’s hat and wield your whisk, more power to you. I take the easier – if slightly improper –route of pouring everything into a jar and giving it a good shake. Works for me.
Makes: ~1 cup
Chef level: Easy
Ingredients:
- 2 tsp Kosher salt (I use Diamond Crystal – you may have to adjust depending on how salty your salt is)
- 1 tsp honey
- 1 garlic clove, peeled and lightly crushed but left whole
- 1/3 cup red or white wine vinegar
- 1 Tbsp Dijon
- Fresh black pepper
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
How to Make It:
- Into a clean, glass jar, pour in the salt, honey, garlic clove and the vinegar.
- Set it off to the side for about 20 minutes or so, until the garlic has infused a little and the honey and salt are mostly dissolved.
- Make your salad while you allow the vinegar to rest.
- Remove the garlic clove and throw away.
- Add the Dijon to your vinegar and a few cranks of black pepper.
- Top with your oil.
- Tightly seal the lid and shake what your mama gave ya until well combined.
- Taste for seasoning, adjust if/as necessary, dress the salad and be on your way!
