6 Variations on Vinaigrette
Master the mother of all dressings
I used to say salads were hard to define, but actually it’s easy: any dish that combines fruits, vegetables, or greens and then dresses them in a delicious, slightly acidic sauce. How’s that?
And by “slightly acidic sauce,” I often go for a vinaigrette. When you combine great olive oil, excellent vinegar, salt and pepper, garlic or shallot, and an herb or a little good mustard, you create an astonishingly delicious all-purpose sauce. The kind of thing chefs amaze people with — something you can make every day, serve with pride, and vary for the rest of your life. You can drizzle this mixture on everything from salad to grilled vegetables to cold grilled chicken or fish, grain bowls, and noodles… anything, really.
The standard ratio is three parts oil to one part vinegar, but many people prefer more oil; a ratio of four to one can be quite nice, depending on how you use it.
Adjust the ratio according to the strength of the components. You may prefer two parts oil to one part vinegar or something even a little sharper. And that’s the key: Taste your vinaigrette, add a few drops of one or the other, then taste it some more.
Variations might swap out the oil or vinegar for additional flavors. You can skip the vinegar entirely and use citrus…
