Have you ever looked it the ingredient list on a bottle of commercial salad dressing?
Of course you have!
Can you actually identify most of the ingredients?
Or even pronounce them?
When we first moved 'across the pond' commercial salad dressings weren't available – they may be now, but I wouldn't buy them anyway.
I started making my own and quickly realized how incredibly easy it was. Plus they had lots more flavor and I knew I knew what the ingredients were…. Real food!
I'm just giving the recipe ingredients and the nutrition facts…. The method is always the same:
If it's a yogurt based dressing this will come together quickly. If it's not, you may have to stop adding the oil and just whisk for a few seconds from time to time…. you're adding the oil too fast.
When the dressing is thick, add the chopped herbs, shallots, etc.
All of the dressings / vinaigrettes will keep for several days in the fridge.
Creamy Mustard Yogurt Dressing
1/2 cup (130gr, 4.6oz) Greek Yogurt
2 tbs (30gr, 1.05oz) whole grain mustard
1 tbs (16gr, .56oz) white balsamic vinegar
1 tbs (13.5gr, .48oz) good olive oil
1 tbs snipped chives
1 tbs snipped basil
Nutrition information for: entire recipe / per serving of app. 6 tbs
Calories: 221/ 110.5
Carbohydrates: 8 / 4
Fiber: 1.2 / .6
Fat: 19.1 / 9.55
Saturated: 4.7 / 2.35
Cholesterol: 47 / 23.5
Calcium: 179 / 89.5
Protein: 6 / 3
Sodium: 404 / 202
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Honey Mustard Vinaigrette
1 1/2 tbs (31.5gr, 1.1oz) honey
1 1/2 tbs (22.5grm .8oz) course grain mustard
1 1/2 tbs (22.5gr, .8oz) lemon juice
4 tbs (54gr, 2oz) olive oil – the good stuff
Nutrition information for: entire recipe / per serving of app 4.5 tbs
Calories: 590/ 295
Carbohydrates: 27 / 13.5
Fiber: .9 / .45
Fat: 55 / 27.5
Saturated: 7.5 / 3.75
Cholesterol: 0 / 0
Calcium: 16.5 / 8.25
Protein: 1 / .5
Sodium: 259 / 129.5
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"French" Vinaigrette
2 tbs ketchup
1 tbs red wine vinegar
1 tsp Dijon-style mustard
1/4 tsp paprika
3 tbs olive oil, the good stuff
Nutrition information for: entire recipe / per serving of app 3 tbs
Calories: 393/ 196.5
Carbohydrates: 7.8 / 3.9
Fiber: .2 / .1
Fat: 41 / 20.5
Saturated: 5.6 / 2.8
Cholesterol: 0 / 0
Calcium: 10 / 5
Protein: .75 / .375
Sodium: 392 / 196
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Classic Balsamic Vinaigrette
1 tbs Dijon mustard
2 tbs Balsamic wine vinegar
5 tbs olive oil – the good stuff
1 tbs freshly snipped chives
1 tbs freshly snipped basil
1 clove garlic, crushed
Nutrition information for: entire recipe / per serving of app 4 tbs
Calories: 636/ 318
Carbohydrates: 7.25 / 3.62
Fiber: .7 / .35
Fat: 68 / 34
Saturated: 9.3 / 4.65
Cholesterol: 0 / 0
Calcium: 22 / 11
Protein: 1 / .5
Sodium: 179 / 89.5
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Oriental Vinaigrette (lo cal)
2 tbs brown sugar, unpacked
2 1/2 tbs red wine vinegar
1 tbs parsley – dried or fresh
1 tbs water
2 tsp oil – sesame or walnut best
2 tsp soy sauce
Nutrition information for: entire recipe / per serving of app 3 tbs
Calories: 160/ 80
Carbohydrates: 18.5 / 9.25
Fiber: .06 / .03
Fat: 9 / 4.5
Saturated: 1.25 / .62
Cholesterol: 0 / 0
Calcium: 19 / 9.5
Protein: .7 / .35
Sodium: 606 / 303
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This should be a good base to create your own!
What wonderful ideas! Thanks.
My French neighbor taught me to just dump vinegar and mustard in the bottom of the salad bowl, add some salt, whisk it around with a fork, then whisk some oil in. Like you described, but just enough, unmeasured, for that salad. Then she dumped in the lettuce. She didn’t mix it up until time to serve, which was usually with the cheese course as a digestive.
I never have dressing left over any more. This is just too easy. And that American stuff I missed so much is now just soooo heavy!
I do that, too…. And, the Spanish way – drizzle a bit of vinegar and oil over the top….
But, all of these are good, and will keep for a week so V can have salads for lunch… the easy way.
And there’s rarely much left over…
Will you laugh that with bread baking somehow making my own salad dressing just seemed the right thing to do.
Summer would not be summer without tuna salad as I saw in your next post. We’ll be taking tuna salad sandwiches for our travel lunch.