Salad Dressings: Help Wanted

[stultiloquentia]

CSA season approacheth. In my corner of the world, this means weeks and weeks of bags and bags of leafy greens, with the odd rainbow carrot or Sputnik kohlrabi or fistful of herbs to liven things up. Glorious leafy greens! But. Bagses and bagses.

I need all your best salad dressing recipes. What's your household favourite? Easiest? Ooh-la-la-est? Best vinaigrette improv? Sing with me! (Tune of 'O Tannenbaum':) Eee-mulsify...emulsify...

Creamy Pesto Dressing
Family favourite. Keep it thick and it makes a great dip.
1 C fresh parsley
1 1/2 C mayonnaise
1/4 C Parmesan cheese, grated
2 T lemon juice
1 t basil
1 clove garlic, crushed
milk to thin, if necessary

Caesar
1/2 C mayo
1/4 C milk
1/4 C Parmesan, grated
2 T Dijon mustard
2 T lemon juice or vinegar
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 anchovy fillet, mooshed (optional)
1/4 t pepper

Lazy Thousand Island
Equal parts mayonnaise and ketchup. Ewwww.

Comments

[rivenwanderer]

It looks kind of grody, but mashed roasted garlic (chilled) stirred into some olive oil and balsamic vinegar is really tasty and easy. [insert ranting/raving about how amazing it is to keep a jar of mashed roasted garlic in the fridge at all times]

[stultiloquentia]

Yeah! I'd hate to muddle through a summer with no balsamic vinegar. That by itself is my salad dressing half the time, but it seemed like a bit of a cop-out to mention it. *g*

keep a jar of mashed roasted garlic in the fridge

That is a brilliant idea.

[kyriacarlisle]

Orange/Sesame

1/2 c. orange juice
2 T. red wine vinegar
1/4 c. olive oil
1 T. sesame oil
1/2 T. soy sauce
1/4 t. dry mustard
1 T. fresh dill (1 tsp. dried)
1 small clove garlic, minced

Combine everything in a jar; shake. I find the sesame is very strong at first, and mellows over the next few days; consider making this one day ahead (sesame oil also solidifies quickly when it's chilled, so you'll need to pull this out of the fridge a while before you want to eat it).

Mustard-Maple

6 T. olive oil
2 T. Dijon mustard
3 T. red wine vinegar
2 t. maple syrup
salt, pepper, dill, coriander to taste

This is also very good on cooked vegetables (green beans, asparagus, broccoli)

[rodo]

I only know one salad dressing recipe: my mothers.

It's a mixture of oil, vinegar, mustard, ketchup, finely chopped onion and dill, but I don't really know any measurements.

[annotated_em]

* 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
* 1 tablespoon soy sauce
* 3 tablespoons dark sesame oil
* 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
* 4 scallions, trimmed and finely chopped
* 1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
* 2 teaspoons honey
* Chile-garlic paste, to taste


In a small mixing bowl, whisk all ingredients together, or combine in a jar with a screw-on cap and shake vigorously. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

---

* 1/4 cup white miso
* 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
* 1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger
* 1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar
* 3 tablespoons plain (not toasted) sesame oil
* 1 tablespoon water

Whisk together miso, vinegar, ginger, and sugar in a medium, nonreactive bowl until well combined. Whisking continuously, slowly add oil in a thin stream until completely blended. Whisk in water.

[weaverbird]

Super quick creamy dressing.

Combine in a blender (or food processor):

1 small carton of cottage cheese
Vinegar - 2T or so to thin to pouring consistency
Minced fresh herbs - your choice: chives, parsley, basil, thyme, marjoram, rosemary, you name it

Blend smooth and pour.

If you don't have any fresh herbs, you can use a seasoning blend like Mrs. Dash, instead.

[silvercaladan]

If you're looking for something else to make with the greens, this recipe can be easily altered to work with any leafy greens and works as a great side: Swiss Chard Gratin

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/2110

It was a bit too sweet for me, so I dropped the butter and halved the milk, and tossed in some random salty things like Worcestershire sauce and red wine vinegar to taste. It cooked up pretty well, though don't expect it to be really firm. Its still delicious :)

As to salad dressings:

I LOVE a good pepper jelly vinaigrette; it can be either sweet or spicy or tangy depending on your choice of pepper jelly.

1/4 cup pepper jelly
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
~1 teaspoon garlic salt (or 1/2 garlic powder and 1/2 salt)
1/2 cup olive oil

Mix all the ingredients in a blender, and bam! Delicious.

[stultiloquentia]

Ooh, gratin! That's a good idea. I really have no problem finding cool things to do with the chard and spinach, though. It's the three heads of lettuce and a pound of little mustards and aruguli and whosits that get overwhelming.

Your pepper jelly recipe sounds fantastic. My mom makes pepper jelly, but it's never occurred to me to turn it into dressing. Can't wait to try.

[minxy]

SPUTNIK! It is, right? I've always said so.

And I'm an oil and vinegar girl, so no help there. But, for the record:

Drizzle directly on (tossed) greens:
(your choice of) oil
(your choice of) vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
Sprinkle fresh herbs ueber alles.

[akatonbo]

This is one of my favorites too; I also do the same with lemon juice instead of vinegar.

[jesse_the_k]

One thing I do with raw leafy greens is substitute them for the flour wraps (I can't eat cause I'm celiac). So whatevers in a wrap will be happy to be enrobed in three layers of lettuce.

Another quick'n'easy salad dressing is equal amounts of soft tofu and avocado, mushed (or blended) plus enough lemon juice for your degree of tart.

[stultiloquentia]

substitute them for the flour wraps

Oh! Of course! My cousin threw his big annual backyard party a few weeks ago, and had all the trappings for Vietnamese fresh rolls spread out on a table. Those were gooood. They're not a food I think about unless they're in front of me, so thanks a lot for the timely reminder.

Tofu to thin avocado mush. I do love avocado. I'm intrigued.

[leanne]

My go-to recipe doesn't have measurements, but it's easy enough I'm sure you can get it figured to your taste:

1 part balsamic vinegar
1 part red wine vinegar or lemon juice or both
2 parts the best olive oil you can find -- basically, the olive oil should be equal to the amount of whatever acids you are using.
a generous squeeze of Dijon mustard
a generous splash of Worchestershire sauce
garlic and other herbs and/or spices to taste
salt & pepper

Combine all ingredients in a lidded container and shake well to combine. Enjoy!

[gool_duck]

in a jar (or other container-with-a-lid):

juice of half a lemon
equal amount (by volume) of olive oil
a teaspoon of mustard
a clove (or two) of garlic, crushed or finely chopped
a little bit of salt (about half a teaspoon)
A spoon or two of mayonnaise
half a teaspoon of sugar (because the lemon juice is very acidic)

close jar, shake well, taste, adjust seasoning.
I like to pour it over lettuce just before serving.

[applekid]

I had grilled caesar salad a few months ago at a restaurant. It was poorly executed, but i thnk the idea has potential to be awesome:

Basically it was a halved head of romaine, brushed with olive oil, grilled flat side down for long enough to get a bit of wilt & char but still be crunchy in the middle. Topped with caesar dressing & croutons, eaten with a knife & fork like a giant green steak. You could probably do this with any robust lettuce.

[amalnahurriyeh]

My favorite dressing is to chop up an onion/half an onion, depending on size, and cook very slowly in a lot of olive oil (like, enough so the onions are almost covered--this obvs depends on size of pan. After a lot of long cooking so the onions are gently carmelized, use onions+oil as the oil component of a mustard vinaigrette. You can also add cherries or other fruit to the onions and cook down for just a moment at the end.

Or, you know, you can eat the onions and oil on bread. Or with a spoon, cold out of the fridge. I may have an onion problem.