How to Make a Vinaigrette

Bottled salad dressings can be convenient, but they are expensive and often full of sugar, weird chemical additives and may not be gluten free. The dressing never seems to cling to the greens the way I want, and because they are not "seasoned" my way, I end up using far more than I might otherwise need. The solution, I make my own!

The simplicity of a good gluten free vinaigrette is a thing of beauty. Grab a bowl, whisk together oil and vinegar and add some salt. Suddenly, lettuce glistens and springs to life, veggies go from bland to bold, and meat finds a marinade. In general, vinaigrette consists of 3 parts of fat to 1 part acid. You can adjust this ratio to suit your taste and reverse them if making a marinade (yes, that is all there is to it!). 

Vinaigrette may be easy to prepare, but there is a method to the magic. You are asking two ingredients that do not want to mix to get along and form a nice temporary emulsion. There are a few key steps to ensuring success.

Step 1:
Pick a direction and build a flavor base. This can be any combination of ingredients like Dijon, honey, minced shallots or garlic, fresh herbs. Feeling Asian? Grab some fresh ginger and a little soy sauce. Southwestern? Use fresh cilantro, lime zest and a little chipotle in adobo. You get the idea.

Step 2:
Add an acid, any acid. Just make sure it is appropriate to the other flavors. I love things like rice wine vinegar, sherry vinegar, orange juice, etc.

Step 3:
Slowly whisk in the fat, typically oil. What kind of oil? The answer here is flavor. Some oils, like canola, are neutral and won’t get in the way or compete for attention. Some people insist on using only fabulous extra-virgin olive oils, but that doesn't work for every dish. Then there are what I call “garnish oils”; Asian sesame oil, pumpkin seed oil, walnut and other nut oils, truffle oil. These all have wonderful and distinct flavor, but are usually too strong to use as the main oil. So, use a more gentle oil as your base and then add a little bit of this stuff for flavor at the end. Don't forget you can also use a combination of oil and bacon fat, duck fat or pan drippings...delicious!

Step 4:
Adjust the final seasoning. This means salt mostly, but make the dressing taste good to you. More herbs? Sure! A little honey? Why not!