Salad Dressings: Everything Starts with Vinaigrette

 

Salad Dressings:  Everything Starts with Vinaigrette

 

 

I haven’t purchased commercial salad dressing in a LOOOOOONNNG time.  It’s not the cost that bothers me with commercial stuff, and I confess I can’t make it like the big factories do.  See, I don’t have MSG, phosphoric acid, xanthan gum, EDTA, inosinate, and Guanylate handy in my kitchen.   I’m just a simple guy who did pass chemistry, but didn’t use that ebullient knowledge to plot my way through life.

 

I wouldn’t even know exactly what to buy, so I decided to find out.  When I looked up disodium guanylate, my spell checker ripped off it’s mask, coughed in my face, and shot me an evil look.

 

Disodium guanylate, also known as sodium 5’-guanylate and disodium 5’-guanylate, is a natural sodium salt of the flavor enhancing nucleotide guanosine monophosphate. Disodium guanylate is a food additive with the E number E627.  It is commonly used in conjunction with glutamic acid.

 

Nope. Decided to skip that ingredient, along with a host of others and start with the basic ratio for vinaigrette:  3 parts oil, 1 part vinegar.

 

Started with, I said, not finished with.  See, that’s just too oily for me, so I dropped the ratio down to 2 to 2.

 

But, there are many many oils and vinegars.  To start, I had to pause a minute for a sip of wine and ponder the variations.  Pondering took longer than I’d expected.  And more wine.

 

I settled on olive oil and rice vinegar, which is not so strong as other vinegars.  And to help out my sweet tooth, I used seasoned rice vinegar.

 

But, once you begin adding ingredients and since your blender is being ignored, it was time to invite the blender to join the team.  Finely chopped garlic….oh, hell, add another clove.  No need to be stingy.

 

Want the dressing to stick more easily on the salad greens?  Add an egg yolk.  Make the blender happy!

 

I don’t like to splash salt and pepper directly on salad greens, so I add a dash of sea salt and freshly ground pepper to the mix.

 

Damn good, but in days to come, I fiddled and added different ingredients, but not all at once.  Sometimes I wanted a hint of Dijon mustard and sometimes something citrusy. 

 

Lemon zest lends freshness.  Orange slices add a bright flavor.

 

Like things creamier?  Sometimes I do. Best to add an egg yolk and blend it in before adding some cream or buttermilk.

 

How about an Asian tilt?

 

Try this:

 

Sesame oil and olive oil, or canola oil (one portion each)

Peanut butter (2 portions)

Lime juice (one portion)

Soy sauce (one and a half portions)

If you didn’t use seasoned rice vinegar, add honey to suit your taste

A clove or two of diced garlic

Hot sauce if you like, plus salt and pepper

 

Once again, blend it well.

 

For the Asian salad, I add shredded cabbage to the greens.

 

I prefer to tell you the portions instead of a tablespoon of this and that ‘cause I don’t know if you’re making salad dressing for two or twenty.  But, as a rule, I make more than I need, so I’ll have some in the frig ready to use.

 

Yes, I have added wine or sparkling wine to the dressing.  And sometimes I use a mix of vinegars, such as balsamic, or unseasoned rice vinegar.  

 

Fresh herbs, like rosemary or basil, or cilantro will serve you well.

 

I realize this is a shotgun blast of dressing ideas, but that’s part of the fun.

 

A few years ago, as I visited a friend and his wife, he asked me to “Please make that salad, with the dressing you made when we were at your house.”

 

“’Fraid I’m going to have to wing it, bro.  I never make the same dressing twice.” 

 

See even salad can be exciting, especially if you get to piddle with the dressing.

 

What if you don’t have a blender?  Well, if you’ve got wine, you’ve stomped grapes, right?