Basic Vinaigrette

It`s really easy to make a great salad with store-bought dressing and, to be honest, they always taste great. But sometimes you don`t have it at home but you still want a salad so we are here to teach you how to make an easy vinaigrette. There are three basic elements to a vinaigrette: Oil, Vinegar and Sugar.

When making any type of vinaigrette, you can use the Oil of your choice: Olive, Sesame and Coconut oils have more flavour, Avocado, Flax, Canola oils are on the more neutral side. If you`re not sure, taste it before making your own vinaigrette.

For the Vinegar, it can be any type of acid such as Lime, Lemon, Citrus Juice, Red Wine, Apple Cider, White, Rice Wine Vinegars and many others too, it all depends on what flavour you want from it.

For the Sugar, you can use maple syrup, honey, caster, brown sugar, date syrup and any other sweetener of choice. Again, it all depends on the flavour you want from it.

You can flavour your vinaigrette with regular herbs and spices. From salt to dry basil to fresh cilantro and garlic, you can change the flavour of your dressing by adding a little bit of cabinet spices.

Now, in order to blend a vinaigrette or turn into a different dressing without having to shake or stir it before using, a basic vinaigrette needs a binder to combine the oil with the vinegar. Those can be many different ingredients but the most common are: Honey, Mustard, and Egg Yolks.

For our go-to recipe, we have an Italian-style dressing:

Italian Vinaigrette

Servings: 1 Cup

Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

¾ Cup Olive Oil

¼ Cup Red Wine Vinegar

½ Tbsp Honey

1 Tablespoon Italian Seasoning

¼ Lemon (juiced and zested)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Step-by-Step

1.       Mix Oil, Vinegar and Honey. Add Lemon juice and spices. Mix well before serving.

or

1.       Start with the first three ingredients and create your own dressing from there. Have fun!