The Spanish way of dressing a salad is to drizzle a bit of oil and vinegar over the top of your own salad just before eating. The salads are brought to the table naked.
The French way of dressing a salad is to put a dab of Dijon mustard in the bottom of a salad bowl; add a dash of vinegar, a bit of salt and whisk in some olive oil. Put the lettuce on top and toss just before serving.
The American way of dressing a salad is to….
We won’t go there.
The British way is the American way.
We won’t go there, either.
The display of salad dressings in a typical American supermarket is mind-boggling. Not only is there every conceivable type and variation of salad dressings and vinaigrettes known to woman, but each and every one comes in Regular, Light, and Non-Fat or ‘Free’.
‘Free’ of what?’ is always my question.
It’s certainly not Free of unpronounceable ingredients.
Have you ever looked at the ingredient list on a bottle of commercial
salad dressing?
Here is, to me, the real conundrum:
A serving of 2 tbs of a brand-name non-fat Ranch dressing has about the same amount of calories as a serving of 2 tbs of my Creamy Mustard Yogurt Dressing (recipe below).
BUT (it’s a big but) mine has all natural ingredients, heart-healthy fat from olive oil, calcium from yogurt AND you’ll use less because it isn’t such a thick glop and it packs a bigger flavor punch.
It takes about a minute to make and keeps for a week in the fridge.
Here are five of my favorite ways to dress a salad – I’m just giving the recipe ingredients; the method is always the same:
bowl. Whisk well to combine. Slowly drizzle in the olive or other oil,
whisking constantly, until it emulsifies or thickens.
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 up to a week in the fridge.
Creamy Mustard Yogurt Dressing
1/2 cup Greek Yogurt
2 tbs whole grain mustard
1 tbs white balsamic vinegar
1 tbs good olive oil
1 tbs snipped chives
1 tbs snipped basil
Honey Mustard Vinaigrette
1 1/2 tbs honey
1 1/2 tbs course grain mustard
1 1/2 tbs lemon juice
4 tbs good olive oil
“French” Vinaigrette
2 tbs ketchup
1 tbs red wine vinegar
1 tsp Dijon-style mustard
1/4 tsp paprika
3 tbs good olive oil
Classic Balsamic Vinaigrette
1 tbs Dijon mustard
2 tbs Balsamic wine vinegar
5 tbs good olive oil
1 tbs freshly snipped chives
1 tbs freshly snipped basil
1 clove garlic, crushed
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 is best
2 tsp soy sauce
And here’s a favorite salad with one more variation – and one thing I for got to mention:
Always add a bit of dressing to just the lettuce and toss very well to coat. Then add the rest of the ingredients and a bit more dressing. That helps to control the urge to use too much dressing.
Kitchen Garden Salad with Thousand Island Dressing
1 carrot, shredded or julienned
1/2 cup radishes, sliced
1 small bulb fennel, sliced
2oz (60gr) white cheddar cheese, cubed
4oz (125gr) ham, cubed
2 eggs, hard cooked, peeled and roughly chopped
handful basil leaves, torn or left whole
spring greens for 2 main course salads
Thousand Island Dressing
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
2 tbs ketchup
1 tbs white Balsamic vinegar
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tbs capers, chopped
1 tbs fresh chives, snipped
2 tbs good olive oil
Put the salad greens and basil in a large bowl, Add 2 tbs of the dressing and toss well to coat. Add radishes, carrot, fennel and ham, another tbs of dressing and toss well. Top with egg and cheese, drizzle another tbs dressing over the top and serve, additional dressing on the side.
Now….
Go forth and Eat Real!
Saving this blog post as a reference for great salad dressing recipes. Thanks for the compilation!
LOL! You’re right, free of what? And I invariably come home with the wrong one, way too many varieties of all of them.
You’ve got some great dressings and I usually make Balsamic Vinaigrette similar to yours except that I add more garlic and a bit of sugar. Love it, especially in the summer time! I will try your French Vinaigrette soon, it sounds great!
I am proud to say that despite a number of forays into prepared French foods, I have NEVER purchased a salad dressing here. I know people who do, though.
I almost always do mine the Spanish way. So quick and easy.
You’re right, the salad dressing section in an American supermarket takes up almost an entire aisle. I can’t imagine purchasing dressing now.
Thanks for the great recipes!
Great post! I use balsamic vinegar and olive oil to dress salad, to which I often add a bit of Dijon mustard. Sometimes I use lemon juice (for example on green beans). I must admit that I don’t know anything about salad dressing in bottles (blessed ignorance, maybe?)
I’m like Katie why spend money on a preservative laden bottled dressing when it’s so easy to make a simply delicious one. But then don’t forget we love to cook I think that’s the difference.
Love all of these dressings Katie. I think a salad is calling mu name for lunch.
Great post about dressings. Now I can play around with it instead of just French dressing. 🙂 Before I learnt how to make vinaigrette, I used to buy it off the shelf. :p Now I don’t anymore.
Pam, free of natural ingredients? I usually add garlic or shallots, too! I was being simple ;-))
Peggy, you are so welcome!
Betty, I haven’t either – but I’ve tasted the Salad Cream… bleh!
Pam, I agree. And that’s what we always do for simple lettuce salads.
Loulou, like the yogurt section here which is huge…. It’s so strange to go into supermarkets there.
Simona, blessed, healthful ignorance. The rest of us are learning ;-))
Gilli, making a vinaigrette it so simple it hardly qualifies as cooking… but you are right!
Val, we’re eating them constantly. I planted way too much lettuce, as usual!
Hi Katie – I’m with you, homemade dressings all the way…that salad and dressing looks diving, I must try fennel!, Ina
I have NEVER understood why some people are so amazed at the idea of making salad dressing from scratch. As you have so aptly pointed out already, it’s not exactly rocket science.
Although I do confess that we buy commercially prepared mayonnaise – but it’s good mayonnaise. (At least I THINK it’s good mayonnaise. I just looked at the ingredients list. Among the relatively few ingredients listed are canola oil and calcium disodium EDTA. I’m not so sure about canola these days. I know it has been heavily hybridized and much of it heavily genetically modified. And switching to their mayonnaise that is made with olive oil isn’t a choice because it too has canola oil in it. RATS!!)
How about a part three to this series on how to make mayonnaise from scratch? Using eggs that have been par-boiled. (Even with free-run eggs, I’m still just a little concerned about salmonella.)
Excuse me for commenting again (you know me; I can’t shut up).
Clarification of par-boiling eggs for mayonnaise. I’m thinking about using the same method of cooking the eggs as with Hollandaise….
But, how to make just a little mayonnaise at a time? I can’t imagine that the homemade stuff would keep very long even in the fridge.
I just wrote a comment over at “Taste of Beirut” blog (in an older post about lebanese salad dressing) about canadian guests in my home looking at me like I have two heads when they see me whip up my own salad dressing. They can’t understand why on earth I take the trouble when I could pack my fridge door with ready-made ones.
On top of what you mention about industrial salad dressings, is it just me or are they actually a sure way to ruin otherwise perfectly fine fresh salad ingredients? I find them terrible in taste.
Cooking Ninja, I’m guessing you have very good examples to follow for the ‘French’ dressing ;-))
Ina, it really is so easy, and so much better
Elizabeth, making a small amount is really the challenge. I make aioli (I should say, alioli) the Spanish way, with only oil and garlic, no egg. I’ll have to think on the mayo question. I usually just add a little to yogurt for the flavor.
Zoubida, it’s not just you. And making it from scratch is almost as easy as opening the bottle. So little effort for such an improvment in taste.