Some Salad Dressings

Despite the winter cold, I still like to serve a fresh, crisp salad with most meals. I think it's a wonderful start or end to some of the heavy comfort food on which I often rely during the chilly months. While lettuces and raw vegetables are delicious, the star of my salads is almost always a bright dressing to bring out the flavors of the food.

My go-to dressing is a basic white wine vinaigrette. Here's what I do.

White Wine Viniagrette

• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• I like champagne vinegar for this, but anything, even red wine vinegar will do. Don't use white vinegar. It's only good as a cleaning solvent, not food.
• 1 tsp. dijon mustard
• 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1/2 tsp dried herbes de provence
• salt and pepper to taste

Add all ingredients to a clean, empty glass jar, such as one used for pickles or olives. Shake the ingredients just like a bottled salad dressing until emulsified. Serve.

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Another simple salad dressing is just a few tablespoons of lemon juice squeezed over plain romaine leaves with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.


If you want to get especially creative, use the recipe above for vinaigrette and add other elements. Replace the herbes de provence with some red pepper flakes, or the white wine vinegar with balsamic. The same technique applies.


I personally do not enjoy mayonnaise-based dressings, but if you want a really creamy dressing such as ranch or Caesar, combine all the ingredients but the oil in the bowl of a food processor and add a raw egg yolk. Drizzle in the oil while the machine is on to create an aioli, or mayonnaise dressing for a richer mouth feel. 


If you double the vinaigrette recipe, you have a great marinade for chicken or pork. If you double just the vinegar or lemon juice, you can even create a pretty tasty ceviche for a firm-fleshed fish or scallops. The possibilities are limited by your imagination.