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| the top 9 stonesoup salad dressings |
This is my favourite dressing at the moment, especially for a salad to accompany a big fryup for brunch. I’ve been getting my caramelised red wine vinegar from Norton St Grocer. If you can’t find any, regular red wine vinegar with a teaspoon of honey makes a good substitute.
1 tablespoon caramelised red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon wholegrain mustard
3 – 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
An oldie but a goodie. I love the sweetness of balsamic that is so well combined with the vinegar during the aging process that it seems to be almost savoury. I have been known to make a 1:1 oil:balsamic dressing if I’m in the mood for something really punchy. But the 1:2 below is more common. Classic to dress peppery wild rocket.
2 tablespoon aged balsamic vinegar
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
I love tarragon vinegar, it tempers the flavour of fresh tarragon and gives an interesting twist. To make your own, just shove 1/2 bunch tarragon in a bottle of white wine vinegar and allow it to sit for a few weeks. It will keep for ages. This dressing is also lovely with a regular white wine or Champagne vinegar.
1 tablespoon tarragon vinegar
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
If you’re in an indecisive mood, this is the dressing for you. Sometimes I find lemon juice dressings to be a bit too ‘lemony’ without being sharp enough, this is where the wine vinegar helps.
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
This is a lovely hearty, almost meaty dressing. I love it to dress a salad of warm lentils but it’s also good on leaves. This one keeps well in the fridge which is just as well since it takes a while to make. I LOVE how the onions soak up the vinegar and give little acidic bursts of freshness.
1 large brown onion, finely chopped
1 cup olive oil
1/4 cup sherry or other wine vinegar
Heat oil in a small saucepan and add onion. Simmer over a low heat until onion is soft but not brown. Remove from the heat and add vinegar and season. Allow to sit for at least 10 minutes for the onions to soak up the vinegar.
Inspired by Sam & Sam Clarke of Moro Restaurant and Cookbook fame. I originally discovered this dressing for a roast pumpkin and chickpea salad but it’s lovely as a sauce for fish, or even to dress a salad with lots of crunchy greens like snowpeas or fresh asparagus. Haven’t yet used it to dress normal leaves.
1 clove garlic, finely pounded
4 tablespoons lemon juice
4 tablespoons tahini
3 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
This is easily my most minimalist salad dressing. Forget about the oil and just squeeze lemon juice over. Good with a simple salad of tuna and mixed leaves.
I’m not the biggest fan of creamy salads. Something about the way the dressing doesn’t look right on the leaves. On potatoes it’s another story. This dressing also doubles as a sauce for fish or chicken. The quantities below make a bit over a cup of dressing which will be way more than you need to dress a bag of leaves.
2/3 cup whole egg mayonnaise
1/3 cup natural yoghurt
1 - 2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 small clove garlic, crushed, optional
Another cooked dressing, this is great for main course salads that have fish or cheese starring in them. I’ve made it with and without the chives and both are good. It might feel a bit weird to be cooking the parsley but it adds a whole different difficult-to-describe-dimension to the salad.
½ bunch flat leaf parley, leaves picked
½ bunch chives, finely chopped
1 tablespoon capers in salt, well washed
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice, or to taste
Place parsley leaves in a strainer and pour over boiling water. Run under the cold water tap, then squeeze dry and chop finely. Place in a small saucepan with capers and remaining oil and heat until it starts to sizzle. Remove from the heat and stir in lemon juice and chives and season.
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