How to Make Vinaigrette
Simple dressings for salads and vegetables
Anyone can make a vinaigrette, a basic one is very simple indeed and once made can be adjusted to suit your taste. A vinaigrette should, at best, give your salad a healthy glow, a light touch is essential, at worst it can drown a delicate leaf and leave you reaching for the anti acid tablets.
At its most basic, vinaigrette is no more than a combination of oil and vinegar with salt and pepper which is whisked together into a light emulsion. Variations to the theme abound, some insist on mustard, others on choped shallots, garlic or herbs. I tend to make vinaigrettes based on a particular dish but for the home cook I would suggest making a jar of basic vinaigrette and using that as a base to make smaller portions using other ingredients.
Now for the ‘here we go again, it’s alright for him to say because he doesn’t have to pay for it’ bit, using a good quality wine vinegar and oil will repay you tenfold, the vinegar will last you a long time if you don’t splash it all over your chips and the better the oil the less you need.
Here’s a few different ones using ingredients you might already have, feel free to substitute flavours to your liking, we live in a democracy.
Basic Vinaigrette:
120ml/4fl oz olive oil 40ml/1 1/4 fl oz white wine vinegar salt and black pepper (from the mill please)
Whisk all together and check the seasoning. Whisk again before using.
Cream Vinaigrette:
Make the basic vinaigrette as above and then stir in 30ml/1 fl oz hazlenut or walnut oil. Put 60ml/2 fl oz of fresh double cream into a bowl and gently whisk the vinaigrette into it. Freshly chopped chives or chervil or parsley can be added.
For Nicoise salad:
120ml/4 fl oz olive oil 30ml/1 fl oz red wine or tarragon vinegar 1 clove of garlic salt and pepper.
Bash the garlic once with the flat of a knife, rub the inside of a mixing bowl with it then use for something else. Whisk all of the remaining ingredients together and check the seasoning. Freshly skinned and choped tomatoes with a little chopped tarragon or basil wouldn’t go amiss.
For Roast Chicken:
Make the classic vinaigrette followed by a spoon or two of reduced brown chicken stock or the jelly that you find stuck to the bottom of the cooked rooster. Warm the meat juices and then combine.
As with any recipe you should taste along the way, if you are using a cheaper vinegar then you might not need so much, it shouldn’t be too acidic so adjust accordingly.
ps if you use malt vinegar then I’ll send the boys around!
Thanks Miles,
Nice and easy to follow, with just enough to fire up the imagination in the culinary department, god I need it, there is only so much an inexperienced never bothered to learn more than the basics cook can do. Still problem solved, I shall visit this site regularly and become a culinary wizard.
I shall be back later, I have work to do.
“Quick - Clear the Kitchen - Artist at Work”.
September 3, 2007 @ 5:40 pm
SC,
Make sure you get yourself a good assistant-all artists need one!
miles
September 3, 2007 @ 6:08 pm
Miles
This is so helpful, many thanks. I can’t beleive how many things I am learning without charge!
September 3, 2007 @ 6:40 pm
“Good Assistant”
I though that was only Magicians that needed an assistant.
There is only room for one amateur cook in my kitchen.
( and that’s enough believe me )
September 3, 2007 @ 6:53 pm
Elsie,
Did I forget to mention the fees?!
Miles
September 3, 2007 @ 7:13 pm
Miles,
The advice on this site is so good I’ve decided to do away with my subscriptions to Homes & Gardens and Hunks Galore … the latter being something of a dead loss on the recipe front
I might keep ‘The Thinking Woman’s Crumpet’ biannual leaflet, it being the perfect size for the grate and an excellent fly swatter …
Cid
September 3, 2007 @ 7:17 pm
“Did I forget to mention the fees? ”
More Brandy Chef ……. ?.
September 3, 2007 @ 7:24 pm
Cid,
Keep the Homes and Gardens, I also read it, you should try an overseas subscription to Australian Gourmet Traveller. I am sure you would approve.
I would be interested to know who features in the thinking woman’s crumpet-something all men would surely aspire to.
miles
September 3, 2007 @ 11:05 pm
SC
‘More brandy chef?’ Go on then!
Actually,I don’t really ‘do’ spirits, could we barter? I can think of a couple of first editions that could sway me into picking up a spade for a fellow ‘Branstonian’
Miles
September 3, 2007 @ 11:09 pm
Miles,
Apparently there’s been a shift in content for ‘Crumpet’ mag … after much consideration they decided griddle recipes were far more plentiful than their present subject matter
Cid
p.s. keep those Australian Gourmet mags and we’ll do a swap.
September 4, 2007 @ 9:45 am
Cid,
It’s not the first time I’ve lost out to a griddle recipe!
miles
September 4, 2007 @ 1:22 pm