Weekly Recipe: Herb Balsamic Vinaigrette

So I must admit -- this recipe is ridiculously simple. It's because of that reason that I'm making it a weekly recipe. Quintessentially feel good food is simple, good for you, and delicious. This is it.

I'll start by pointing something out. Salad dressing is often misunderstood. There are TONS of bottled ones not worth looking at because of trans fats, high fructose corn syrup, and various additives and preservatives. There are a few, however, that are good for you. I don't like sorting through all the bottles, squinting at nutrition facts, and, not to mention, being stuck with the same flavor for as long as that bottle lasts. And, if you're buying the full-fat dressing, it should last a pretty long time...

Just so there's no confusion, I don't ever eat creamy dressings. Maybe once in a while if the circumstances are exceptional (you have to decide on that one), but I like oil-based ones just as much and they are SO much better for you! I'm always one to promote the healthy alternative.

Back to bottled dressings -- so we're stuck with the same flavor. For weeks. For months. For years... no, you should throw the bottle out if it's gotten to be that long. But anyway. It is, like I said before, not only easy, but ridiculously simple to make your own salad dressing. The benefits? Ingredient control, flavor control, quality control, and variety. The cons? The 3 minutes it takes to mix it together. I know it's very, very difficult to compare this list of pros and cons -- so deliberate carefully, making sure to take into account your personal situation before making homemade salad dressing.

I'm simply going to give you my favorite variation, but here's the method behind the madness.

A good dressing contains oil and vinegar. I use olive oil (use the best you can because you will taste it the most here) and balsamic vinegar. You could use red wine, rice, champaign, or cider vinegars. No problem. For an Asian-inspired dressing, you could use a little bit of sesame oil (blend it with others because it is strong), peanut oil might be more appropriate for a Mexican-inspired dressing etc... Really, though -- a good olive oil will work in 99% of cases.

I usually use a 1:1 ratio of oil to vinegar. Lots of recipes call for more oil, but I think it tastes fine with more vinegar. This is up to you, though. You can make your salad milder by using less vinegar, if you want -- something you can't do with the bottle.

Then, there's the flavorings. Fresh herbs, dried herbs, citrus zest, garlic, shallots, onions, ginger, black pepper, etc... I like whatever dried herbs I have on hand -- note that this means prep is really simple: no chopping or anything.

There's also a sweetener -- entirely optional. You can use brown sugar, white sugar, honey, molasses, whatever you want. I use honey -- and you'll see why below.

Finally -- there is the emulsifier. You've probably noticed that oil and vinegar don't mix very well. An emulsifier isn't entirely necessary, but I really like it because it allows the flavors to really blend together -- if you've gone all out with nice olive oil, red wine vinegar, fresh parsley and basil, garlic, shallots, orange and lemon zest, sea salt, and black pepper, you don't want to waste all that chopping time by failing to let the flavors blend. Popular options include egg yolks and mustard, but there are obvious problems with those. I'm not a huge fan of mustard, so why add it to a salad dressing? Some people aren't comfortable with consuming raw eggs -- and there is a risk of disease.

Not so obvious options include roasted garlic (the soft, pasty stuff that you squeeze out of the bulb), egg substitute, and honey. I like using honey because it sweetens and emulsifies. You could make an egg substitute by heating equal parts of water and flax seed meal (ground flax seeds) until it is egg-like in consistency. Adding this would bind all the ingredients, but it does add more dishes to the whole process, too. I say use honey because it's simple.

So, ignoring everything I just said, this is the recipe for a minimalist-salad-vinaigrette.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
a couple pinches of salt to taste
black pepper to taste

That's all you need! Now, this is what I do when I make my own salad.

1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1/4 teaspoon honey
a pinch salt
black pepper
1/4 teaspoon each, dried oregano and dried thyme

1. Mix together.

(I'm usually more verbose in my instructions, but the dearth of words, I think, reveals how simple it really can be!)