Recipe: Balsamic Vinaigrette
I have always assumed I needed to buy bottled salad dressing. Prior to maybe 2 years ago, I had never seen anyone make homemade dressing. It was an anomaly to me. I didn’t know if it was complicated or easy, delicious or disgusting. Just like homemade pasta sauce, I assumed it was best to leave these matters to the experts. Silly me. I had no idea how simple and tasty homemade dressing would be.
Every time I serve this dressing to a guest, someone asks for the recipe. Without exception. And here’s the best part: it only takes about 2 minutes from start to finish. I mean, in the time it takes you to check your Instagram feed, you could have homemade vinaigrette.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar (I use golden. But you can use dark also. I’ve also made it with white wine vinegar and champaign vinegar. Heck, you can use any kind of vinegar you want! The world is your oyster.)
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp raw honey (optional)
a pinch of salt
a few grinds of pepper
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
Directions:
In a medium sized bowl, add everything except the olive oil. Whisk until well-combined.
Slowly, drizzle the olive oil. Like, super-duper slowly. Whisk constantly as you drizzle. Don’t rush this–it’s where the magic happens.
Dip a piece of lettuce into the dressing to taste. If it’s too bland, add a little more salt, pepper, or Italian seasoning. If it’s too tart, add a little more honey or oil.
I store this in the fridge, because of the dijon. But I need to remove it about 30 minutes prior to serving, because olive oil solidifies when it’s too cold. If you live life on the edge, store at room temp.
And check this out! You can now print my recipes right from the blog! (Older recipes have yet to be converted, so be patient. I’m not super woman.)
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar (you can use any variety you like here)
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp raw honey (to taste, you can omit if you don’t want sugar in there)
- pinch of salt
- a few grinds of pepper
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together everything except the oil, until it’s completely combined
- Drizzle olive oil into combined mixture very slowly, whisking constantly.
- Dip a piece of lettuce into the dressing to taste and adjust seasoning accordingly.
I love balsamic vinegar salad dressing. I never use olive oil, though, as I find it too strong. I tend to go for something neutral like sunflower oil and for extra special dressing I go for walnut oil. A French colleague of my husband gave us the walnut oil tip. I’ve never come across golden balsamic vinegar. If I do I will give it a try 🙂
Sounds yummy. I love olive oil, though. I use it for almost everything, except baked goods.
And that’s the great thing about making your own dressing – you can customise it exactly to your own taste. In fact I think I’m going to add panzanella to this week’s menu. You have inspired me lol!
Oh my goodness! You don’t even know how excited I am to try this! I have a serious love affair with Balsamic Vinaigrette! Just ask my husband – he gets jealous of it sometimes! And some Balsamics are yummier than others and I’ve always wanted to find one as yummy as some I’ve had in different restaurants. Yay! Thanks!
Let me know when you try it, if you like it, etc, etc, etc…
How long can this be stored in the fridge?
Hi Erin!
You can store it as long as you’d store the ingredients in it. In this recipe, the only ingredient that requires refrigeration is the dijon mustard. If you use fresh herbs, it would shorten the time more. I usually keep it for a week or two and find that it tastes best when it’s fresh, immediately after I make it. Hope that helps. 🙂
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Really really good! Just so perfect!
I don’t use honey, I prefer real maple syrup, but I add only 1/2 table spoon! Amazing thanks a lot