Salad Dressing Without the Bottle
Easy Recipe for Homemade Salad Dressing and Vinaigrette
Unlike most of America's diet, the green or garden salad consisting of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and their usual partners does not have ancient culinary roots. A couple of generations ago serving this sort of salad as part of the major meal of the day was rarely done in European restaurants. Probably because Americans were the bulk of the number of tourists in Europe after World War II, green salads for dinner or supper caught on there. Something that once was primarily American is now served just about everywhere.
One of the salad recipe inventions that has become extremely popular goes by the French name vinaigrette. This 'v' word is both attractive to American salad eaters for its exotic, Frenchified sound, and repellent to many American eaters for its exotic, Frenchified sound.
If this article had the word vinaigrette in the title most readers would choose to leave this recipe unread and would choose to click salad dressing recipes with less threatening words in the title. Evidence for this brash assertion can be found by using Google's keyword tool. The number of people who search for salad dressing is substantial, but the number of people who look up combinations including the word vinaigrette is tiny.
Nevertheless, the bottom-line truth of the matter is that the overwhelming majority of salad dressings consumed by Americans is a variation of the vinaigrette theme. A vinaigrette by any other name tastes as good.
Salad Dressing Preparation Takes Mere Moments
Most salad dressing in America consists of oil, vinegar, a few dry ingredients such as salt, pepper, garlic powder and spices, and the extra preservatives salad dressing bottlers are forced to include in their products to meet health regulations. American eaters tend to have a sweet tooth, so sugar or corn syrup can also be found in the bottles. Not to mention flavor enhancers like MSG.
Here's the barebones version of the basic vinaigrette recipe:
- Prepare the greens plus tomato etc in bite-size pieces and place in a large bowl
- Dribble onto the greens a small amount of oil and toss everything together.
- Add salt, pepper, garlic and tarragon. Toss again.
- Add a small amount of vinegar. Toss again.
Enjoy the tossed handiwork soon after the numbered steps are finished.
All the ingredient mixing can be done directly in the same salad bowl used to serve at the table. No extra whisks or bottles are needed. Nevertheless everything meets the dictionary criterion for the dreaded but common vinaigrette dressing.
Expanding On The Steps Above
The term greens is used here to mean the things out of the garden that most people assume go into salad, such as lettuce, celery, etc. For variation, some fruits go well in salad. Apples, pears and mangos are three. Nuts of all kinds work well in the bowl. Cheese is also good, although it is probably better to save the cheese for the final moments before serving.
In the last few years many recipe writers have become quite snobby about the oil in the dressing. Virgin olive oils seems to be everyone's favorite. This oil is probably the best choice. But if financial resources or geographical location put this favored product out the preparer's reach, the truth is that any good salad oil, even vegetable oil, works.
The amount of oil used is just enough to coat the other ingredients with a thin layer. This amount is probably quite a bit less oil than most American bottled dressing users are used to. A properly-made salad dressing does not leave a puddle of oil in the bowl after the salad is eaten.
Salt and pepper are self-explanatory. The eater's tastebuds determine the quantity. Freshly-minced garlic is preferred over the dried kind. Other ingredients are not absolutely essential, but a small ball of tarragon -- fresh or dried -- adds a welcome taste dimension. Perhaps personal preference will cause the preparer to add other herbs or spices. That choice is voluntary.
The amount of vinegar added is half or less than the amount of oil added in the first step. Many writers advocate a ratio of two to one. If a robust vinegar like balsamic is used, the ratio could be closer to four to one. Again, the amount of vinegar used is probably quite a bit less than most bottled salad dressing users are used to. There is no need to add enough vinegar to make the taste acidic. If the tongue stings, too much vinegar has been added.
If the average meal preparer knew how incredibly simple it is to make a tasty salad dressing, they would never buy another bottle of that stuff.
Salad Platter
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