Today, I went to my refrigerator to
make a tasty salad. (yes I eat salads for lunch) Checklist, Romaine,
onion, pepper, cheese, ham, salad dressing, this is where my day went
south. My favorite bottled dressing was empty, and in keeping with
the rules of this experiment I now have to make my own salad
dressings. Given that it was morning and I didn't have a lot of time
I decided on making a vinaigrette. Vinaigrette, so fast yet so
complex, this concoction is a science experiment in the kitchen. I
have to admit that this is not the first time that I have made a
vinaigrette I have done it for a lot of recipes and for special
occasions. But I have never really thought about it as refrigerator
staple that I could make for myself on an weekly basis and I not sure
why. It's fast, simple, and cheap and if I'm about anything is about
being cheap.
Let's take a look at what a
vinaigrette is. First we must do something that is painful for most
of us, we must throwout our reliance on recipes, for vinaigrette's
they don't exist. Now that our brains hurt, let's talk ratios. Think
of a vinaigrette as a cocktail, cocktails are put together in parts,
X number of parts to y number of parts. The great thing about this is
a part can be any size, got measuring cups, great, got an old beer
can, perfect! So what is the ratio for a vinaigrette? 3 to 1, three
parts oil to one part vinegar, that's technically a vinaigrette,
granted not a very interesting one but it is a vinaigrette These are
the two required ingredients for you dressing, after this it's up to you.
So what did I make?
I started by collecting the weapons I
would need for this concoction. I grabbed a whisk, bowl, chef
knife,measuring cup, and a spoon. I than went to the panty. I got
white wine vinegar, garlic and oil. A word about oil here, I use
extra virgin olive oil in vinaigrette. The reason is that extra
virgin olive oil has a mild flavor and is a heart healthy oil. You
could use a neutral oil like vegetable or grape seed but you get
little to no flavors from these oils. I than went the refrigerator
and got Dijon mustard.
It was now time to assemble. I minced
one clove of garlic and put it in the bowl. I added a pinch of salt
and a healthy grind of black pepper. (I like pepper in just about
everything) I than add a spoonful of mustard and NO I did not
measure it, I just eyeball it. Mustard does two thing here. The first
is obvious, it adds flavor, but second reason is far more important.
Mustard has emulsifiers that keep the solution in suspension,
preventing easy separation of the vinaigrette. You can skip the
mustard if you like, just remember that it will fall out of suspension much faster and will require frequent shaking to mix before use
Next I decided to add a little honey.
Why? I just wanted to take a little of the acid's bite out of the
dressing, again just eyeball it. In a measuring cup I put 1/3 cup of
vinegar and add it to the bowl. Now I measure 1 cup of oil, this is
where technique comes into play. Take you whisk and Whisk together
all the ingredients except the oil. Once these incorporated, take the
oil and slowly pour it into the other ingredients, while whisking
very quickly until it have a smooth, uniform consistency. It's not
going to look like it is going to come together, but it will.
That,s it, vinaigrette salad dressing.
Shake well before using. Keep it in the refrigerator, a week. Total
time involved, 6 min.. Pain in the ass factor: minimal. One thing you
will notice is depending one the quality of the oil that you use, you
may notice it solidifying in the refrigerator. This isn't really a
problem, just take it out and let it seat at room temp for a little
while and shake to combine. Easy and cheap, a bottle of this is about
$.20. It also can be used for other things like green beans, roasted broccoli and just about any veggie you would like to give a zing to. How about you Do you have a way you make vinaigrette or a use or dish you like to make? If so please leave a comment and let me know!
I LOVE honey mustard and frequently find the house is out. Another easy condiment. I prefer dijon mustard and honey, 50/50 mix.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to give that a try. Is this 50/50 Honey and mustard?
DeleteYes, I usually eyeball it rather than measure.
Delete