Everyday Vinaigrette

Everyday Vinaigrette

Every French chef and French cookbook author has a favorite version of this classic oil and vinegar salad vinaigrette.  Some cooks make a bottle of it in advance and keep it in the refrigerator for whenever it's needed, but it's so simple to make, you can equally put it together just before serving your salad.

What's most important in this recipe is the ratio of oil to acid.  The ratio of oil to acid determines how rich (oily) or bright (acidic) the dressing will be.  I like mine to be neither too oily, nor too acid and use a ratio of one vinegar to two-and-a-half oil because I think this is best for bringing out the flavors of the salad itself.   Figure out what you like and it will be a permanent part of your cooking repertoire.

You don't need lots of dressing for a big bowl of salad ingredients.  Just toss a lot and you'll be surprised how far a little will go.

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Working in a small bowl begin with the vinegar
  2. Add the salt, pepper and mustard; using the fork you just used to add the mustard, gently stir to dissolve the salt and break up the mustard
  3. Add the olive oil. Gently whisk with the fork to emulsify the dressing (or mix everything in a glass jar and just cover and shake)
  4. Add to your completely prepared salad that's already in a salad bowl, and using salad servers, gently but thoroughly toss your salad to let the dressing cover everything.

Making it Yours

Category

Tags

SaladsFrench

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