Vinaigrette

It’s hard to find good salad dressings these days. Sometimes dressings are too gloppy and rich, and others just don’t pack enough punch for my salad greens.

Vinaigrettes are simple to make. Vinaigrettes are emulsified mixtures of oil and vinegar. Simply put, it’s a salad dressing. The perfect ratio for a vinaigrette is 3:1. 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar. You have 1 tablespoon of vinegar? Whisk in 3 tablespoons of oil and you got yourself a simple vinaigrette. How about 1 cup of vinegar? Add in 3 cups of oil.

My college roommate introduced me to a really good salad dressing from Whole Paycheck. Brianna’s Blush Wine Vinaigrette is delicious, and it’s great on any salad with fruit like strawberries or pears. I looked at the ingredients list, and there really weren’t that many ingredients. I recreated my own version of this vinaigrette, and it turned out pretty darn close. Besides a basic balsamic vinaigrette now, I only make this salad dressing.

Click here for the recipe for “Vinaigrette”

Here’s what you need:

Red wine vinegar, lemon juice, agave syrup, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and vegetable/canola oil. Olive oil is too strong for this vinaigrette, so please try to use vegetable or canola oil.

To make it easier to whisk your vinaigrette, roll up a damp towel and form it into a nest for your bowl.

Rest the bowl on top. It’s guaranteed not to wobble around when you whisk.

Now add some red wine vinegar to the bowl.

With some fresh lemon juice. Fresh. No bottled stuff that tastes like Squirt soda.

Add agave syrup. You can also substitute with honey or sugar. Adjust the amount as you see fit.

Add the salt.

Add freshly ground black pepper..

And potent garlic powder..

Whisk, whisk, whisk away.

Now add the oil in a slow, steady steam, and constantly whisk at the same time to emulsify (combine) the vinaigrette.

Keep adding in a slow steady stream, and whisk!

Whisk whisk whisk. til you get this.

How wonderful this stuff is over some salad greens. Try it and let me know if it’s comparable to the stuff at Whole Paycheck. I think it’s pretty close!

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Vinaigrette

Total time: 5 minutes
Prep: 5 min
Cook: 0 min
Yield: ½ cup vinaigrette
Level: Easy

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon of agave syrup (substitutes: 1 tablespoon honey or 2 teaspoons sugar)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6 tablespoons vegetable oil (canola or vegetable, not olive oil)
Salad greens

Directions:
In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, agave syrup, lemon juice, salt, garlic powder and pepper. While whisking constantly, slowly add oil in steady stream until vinaigrette is thoroughly blended. (Or place all the ingredients in a jar and shake to combine).

Toss salad greens with a few tablespoons of vinaigrette and serve immediately. Cover and refrigerate dressing, whisking or shaking again before use.

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