July 16, 2003

To Make an Excellent Salad Dressing,

1. Place one clove of garlic in a wooden bowl and crush it with the back of a heavy tablespoon.1 Add salt and freshly-ground pepper and mash together into a paste.

2. Add a dollop2 of good mustard, and mix it in with the paste.

3. Add about a quarter cup of extra-virgin olive oil and about two tablespoons of balsamic vinegar.3, 4 Blend.

4. Let the dressing rest while you prepare the vegetables, allowing the flavors to blend. When ready, add the veggies and toss thoroughly, coating everything with a fine layer of dressing.

Makes one salad for 2-4 people.

1 Substitutions: you may use whatever bowl is available, but wood is preferrable. If you've run out of garlic, a small shallot will do, though chances are you don't have one of those either. Onion would be too strong, so you'd better just go to the store.
2 Yes, this is a technical term. Somewhere around a tablespoon.
3 You're shooting for a two-thirds to one-third ratio between oil and vinegar here, but many people prefer a stonger vinegar flavor; if you're one of them, go with equal parts oil and vinegar.
4 You could use other types of vinegar, but unless you know what you're doing, stick with an aged balsamic until you've got a feel for the dressing's nuances.

Posted by Andrew Huff at July 16, 2003 02:55 PM
Comments

Don't tell Andrew, but I usually make it half oil and half vinegar. And, if you want to go with a lighter summertime dressing substitute a dollop of jam or marmalade for the mustard and use a lighter vinegar. Before you put your veggies in the bowl, taste if first to make sure you like the ratio. If you make too much, it will keep in a bowl in the fridge for at least a week. Or you can just sop up the extra with a little bread, which is what we usually do.

Posted by: Cinnamon at July 16, 2003 03:07 PM

take out the salt, add a few scritches of fresh ginger, a shamp each of basil and oregano, and reverse the olive oil/vinegar ratio (okay, maybe bump up the olive from two to 4 tblsp), and you have my recipe for apple/walnut/chevre/mixed greens salad dressing. for one. yes. I'm a salad hog. ;)

Posted by: heather at July 16, 2003 03:08 PM

Half-and-half oil and vinegar works for us, but some people don't like such heavy vinegar. I'll add a bit to the footnote, though.

Posted by: Andrew at July 16, 2003 04:17 PM

Know what also tastes great with a Romaine-lettuce-and-juicy-tomato salad? Avocado (of course), and pistachio nuts (not so predictable). That's right, pistachio nuts. Both my husband and I are huge fans. Try it!

Posted by: +mojan. at July 17, 2003 08:58 AM

I like it with honey. Some really good honey instead of the mustard. And maybe add a little cayenne with that, too.

Posted by: sr at July 17, 2003 01:33 PM