This basic vinaigrette can be made in minutes, and is a great base for loads of variations. But it is delicious just as it is as a dressing for salads. This is how Bibi made it, though in her kitchen it was usually Taid’s job (or Emily’s).
The key tip here is to use a clean, empty jam jar to shake the dressing. We keep one specifically for making vinaigrette.
The ingredients are all store cupboard staples. Use a high quality oil, olive is best and extra virgin olive oil even better. But you can use any other oil, rapeseed is good, or a flavoured oil.
Jake sticks his nose in
Good olive oil can be expensive, and sometimes you don’t need to use extra virgin. But it is worth it here as oil is the main ingredient, and you can taste the quality even more when oil is used cold, as here.
We use powdered mustard as it dissolves in the vinegar and mixes in smoothly. But you can use jarred too. Just make sure to mix all the starting ingredients together well, we do this with a little teaspoon. The salt, pepper, mustard powder and sugar should be mixed together first, then stirred with the vinegar until the sugar, salt and mustard dissolve.
We used white wine vinegar here, but red wine vinegar is just as good, or you can play around with different vinegars for different flavour profiles – or replace some or all of it with lemon juice.
There are two key tips to success. First you have to add your oil in stages. Add one tablespoon first. Oil and vinegar do not like to mix, so you have to make them emulsify. This is the second tip – the best way to emulsify is to shake them! Put the lid on the jar and really give it a good shake, the longer and more enthusiastically the better.
You can then add the rest of your oil and give it another really good shake.
The resulting vinaigrette should look smooth. Remember to taste and adjust any seasoning or for acid. You can add more oil to temper the taste and also to make the dressing thicker. The classic is 3 oil to 1 vinegar, but we also use versions with 4 or 5 oil – the latter is particularly good on avocados.
This dressing is lovely just as it is, and very versatile. You can add any chopped herb to it, any spice or chilli, replace some or all of the vinegar with citrus juice, change the oil, mustard or vinegar flavour or indeed add anything you like – we make a nice version where we replace some vinegar with soy sauce. Just remember to shake it with each addition, and also just before serving.
Jake sticks his nose in
Try adding chopped chives, garlic, chilli or ginger for an even bigger flavour kick. Tarragon and oregano are good too.
The vinaigrette can be made ahead and kept in the fridge. In fact, it will keep well for several days, so you can even make a big batch for use in several recipes during the week. It will need a really good shake when you take it out of the fridge.
Shake and enjoy!
Classic Vinaigrette
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Put a generous grind of black pepper and a large pinch of salt (we prefer salt flakes) into you clean, dry jam jar. Add one teaspoon of mustard powder, and about half a teaspoon of caster sugar.
- Muddle all of the dry ingredients together by mixing was a teaspoon. Add one tablespoon of white wine vinegar to the jar and stir again until the salt, sugar and mustard powder dissolve.
- Add one tablespoon of olive oil to the jar. Put the lid on firmly and shake the jar. You need to really shake vigorously for at least 30 seconds to emulsify the dressing, the longer and harder you shake the better.
- Add two more tablespoons of oil to the jar, replace the lid and shake well again.
- Taste and adjust seasoning if required. You can add more of any ingredient e.g. acid, salt, pepper etc until you get a taste you like. You can also add more oil, this will temper the flavour and also make the dressing thicker. The base recipe uses a ratio of 3 oil to 1 vinegar, but you can go up to 4 or 5 to 1.
- Serve just as it is on salad, or add in any herbs or flavourings.
- You can also play around with different types of acid, mustard or oil, but this vinaigrette is a classic.