4 Delicious Homemade Salad Dressings

We like to think the success of any salad is ultimately owed to fresh ingredients and tasty flavour combinations. But, we’re not just talking crisp greens and seasonal add-ins – even the salad dressing must be carefully selected. Making a homemade dressing or vinaigrette means ditching the preservatives and additives (and probably the calories!) of those found on your grocery store’s shelves. With this in mind, we selected four of our favourite, most versatile dressing recipes so you’ll be able to add pizazz to any salad from your kitchen.

Mustard vinaigrette:

This vinaigrette is simple, but still packs some punch with the mild spice of mustard. Try this with an endive and pear salad. Place the mustard and oil in a small bowl and whisk vigorously to produce an emulsion.

Ranch dressing:

Fresh and tangy, this ranch works beautifully with the sweet earthiness of beets or a chicken salad. Place all the ingredients for the dressing in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth.

Caesar dressing:

We love this Caesar dressing paired with a Carpaccio of Raw Zucchini. But it’s so classically delicious; you can’t go wrong using it in any salad!

Peel the garlic clove and cut into 4. Put all the ingredients into a food processor bowl and season with 6 twists of freshly ground black pepper. Blend for one minute to produce a fine creamy, lump-free sauce.

Smoked Tea Vinaigrette:

This unique vinaigrette stands up to the complexity of a cobb salad with the smoky flavour of Lapsang Souchong tea.

In the morning, prepare the vinaigrette. Crush the smoked tea in a mortar or grind it finely in an electric coffee grinder. Place all the ingredients for the vinaigrette in the food processor bowl and blend for 30 seconds to emulsify them. Set aside at room temperature for a minimum of 6 hours before serving to allow the flavors of the tea and vinaigrette to blend.

Dressing recipes are from “Alain Coumont’s Communal Table: Memories and Recipes” and “Le Pain Quotidien Cookbook” by Alain Coumont and Jean-Pierre Gabriel.

Did you get creative with your pantry and switch out an ingredient and add another? We’d love to hear about your salad adventures!

Image: Flickr, ethelgloves