The Virtue of Vinaigrette

I quit buying salad dressing some years ago. It all happened one evening when I was expecting guests and there wasn’t a bottle of vinaigrette to be found in the refrigerator. Here I was with a beautiful, green salad without the dressy, final touch.

Mortar and pestle

I thought to myself: how hard can it be to shake together some oil and vinegar and a few spices? So I did what I should’ve been doing all along. I made my own dressing and that’s what I’ve been doing ever since. A friend gave me a mortar and pestle one year for Christmas–FYI, the mortar is the bowl and the pestle is the club. I now use it to mash up garlic and herbs.

Then I put my mixture in an empty mayonnaise or pickle jar, give it a hearty shake, and store it in the refrigerator. Here’s a recipe for an Easy Garlic Vinaigrette and another for Mustard Vinaigrette. My favorite takes a bit more time—Basil Vinaigrette—and can be found in the Recipe Gallery. It’s especially good to make when I have access to fresh basil.

I first started serving this dressing on salads at the Governor’s Mansion. It became our most requested recipe and I still think it’s one of the best. When making my own salad dressing, I most often stay with the standard 3:1 vinaigrette ratio, meaning 3 parts oil to 1 part acid (the vinegar portion).

Easy Garlic Vinaigrette

1 garlic clove
½ tsp. salt
2 Tbs. red wine or sherry vinegar
5-6 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
Fresh black pepper

I pound the garlic and salt into a paste using the mortar and pestle. Then I put the paste into an empty jar along with the vinegar and give it a shake. Next comes the oil and a few twists of fresh black pepper and another hearty shake. When I’m really feeling feisty, I add a bit of minced shallots or a teaspoon of honey.

Mustard Vinaigrette

1-2 cloves garlic
½ tsp. salt
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1-1/2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
1 Tbs. red wine vinegar
6 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
Fresh black pepper

Mash the garlic and salt into a paste. Put the mixture in a jar and add the Dijon mustard, lemon juice, and vinegar and shake. Slowly add olive oil and black pepper and shake some more. Enjoy!