Summer Vinaigrettes and Dressing Up
Just as we doll ourselves up to get an edge, make ourselves more attractive and nuance our appearance, such is the subtle role of salad dressings and vinaigrettes vis-à-vis the summer salad.
Obviously salad vegetables and greens have their own flavours and fragrances and combining them this way or that alters appearance, taste and fashion, but the strength of persona is always supplied by that dressing. Hence the name.
There are as many types of dressings as the imagination can manage, olive oil and aceto based, mayonnaise or egg and oil based, herb based, tomato based; with add-ons like anchovies, cheese, mustard, fruits, citrus, wine, chilli peppers, sesame, and on and on. All of these can flip the personality of any salad 360 degrees from Middle Eastern to South-East Asian to Mediterranean with the shake of a hand. By applying different dressings while still using the same greens and vegetables as the building blocks, anything is possible.
Salad dressings have been around since ancient times, mostly using oils and aceto/vinegar or lemon juice with local herbs. Even the Babylonians, Greeks and Romans found a need to shake things up and give personality to their less colourful veggies and greens. Remember it was the Spanish who only 600 years ago brought back to the world the colour, flavour and heat that we all enjoy in our salads today.
Commercial supermarket dressings as we know them began in the early twentieth century in America and Britain with brands like Hellmans, Heinz and Kraft. The advent and mass distribution of commercial salad dressings was probably more linked to the availability of new portable and sterile glass packaging technologies than anything else.
Here are a handful of some of my favourite summer dressings, some of my own and others I picked up on the way, can’t remember when or from where.
Italian Vinaigrette
Remember the old Paul Newman Vinaigrettes at the super market with the separated oil and vinegar in a plastic bottle with Paul’s smiley face on the side? Hey presto, that was Italian vinaigrette.
- Vegetable oil 150 gram
- Vinegar 5% 250 gram
- White sugar 60 gram
- Table salt 30 gram
- Pinch of pepper
Put into a pan on a very low heat until sugar dissolves; once cooled, decant into a jar or dressing container that can be shaken every time before use.
Herb, Lemon and Anchovy
This dressing was offered to me along with a number other recipes by a much loved and appreciated principal of mine that wanted more variety in her salads than I had been giving her. It comes from MarthaStewart.com.
- Finely chopped oil packed anchovy fillets x 3
- Finely chopped flat leafed parsley x ½ cup
- Quality olive oil x ¼ cup
- Finely chopped mint x 2 tablespoons
- Finely chopped chives x 2 tablespoons
- White wine vinegar x 1 tablespoon
- Lemon juice x 2 tablespoons
- Lemon zest x 1 teaspoon
- Coarse salt x ¼ teaspoon
- Fresh ground pepper x ¼ teaspoon.
Put everything into a small jar with a lid and shake before use.
Grated Tomato
Dressings and dips made with fresh tomato are always refreshing and full of summer feel and zing.
- Tomato grated x 1
- Olive oil x 3 tablespoons
- Red wine vinegar x 1 tablespoon
- Finely chopped fresh oregano x ½ teaspoon
- Coarse sea salt x ½ teaspoon
- Freshly ground black pepper x ¼ teaspoon
- Sugar x ¼ teaspoon
Put everything into a small jar with a lid and shake well before use.
Citrus & olive oil salad dressing
This vinaigrette I used in both of my restaurants. I like its ingredients. It’s simple, full of flavour and not too acidic. Its texture is thicker as it emulsifies as you mix it.
- Dijon mustard with seeds x 1 tablespoon
- Honey x 1 tablespoon
- Dry white wine x 50 ml
- Orange juice x 75 ml
- Juice of one lemon
- Quality olive oil x 180 ml
- Good pinch of salt
- Good pinch of ground black pepper
Method
Put everything into a blender except the olive oil and mix on high speed while pouring the olive oil in a very slow stream. If it thickens too much, add a little water and mix again. If you don’t have a mixer you can do this in a bowl with a whisk.
Of course you can just put olive oil and a nice balsamic or wine vinegar on the table or oil and lemon. These dressing suggestions should be more than enough to put flavour and flair into your summer salads.
Next week, a dessert to knock you out. Coconut and date squares/slice on a short pastry base made from creme patissiere.
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