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Wednesday, 11 May 2016

Simple French Vinaigrette


A nicely balanced dijon based vinaigrette is a great alternative to bottled salad dressings.

People are always asking me for the recipe for my vinaigrette. Problem is I don't measure. I don't really have a "recipe" - it's just a simple salad dressing with an embarrassingly short list of ingredients. How much mustard?A spoonful. How much vinegar? Some. How much oil? Enough - just taste it and when you think you have the right balance of acid you are there. Cooking by feel really. The best way.

A teaspoon of mustard.




A splash of vinegar. Maybe half as much vinegar as mustard? I like sherry wine vinegar for this but red wine would work nicely. 




Now the part where you actually do something. Stir the mustard and vinegar until the vinegar incorporates into the mustard. Now drizzle good quality olive oil into the mustard/vinegar mix and stir briskly. You are going for an emulsion. Once the oil is incorporated keep adding oil and mixing to emulsify until you get to the point where the vinaigrette will barely hold peaks. Taste. If it's too tart add more oil. If it's not tart enough remember for next time...



I add pepper to this vinaigrette but not salt. I prefer to salt the vegetables directly and then toss with dressing. Easier to control.

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