Friday, June 1, 2012

Recipe: Shaken Lemon, Dijon + Garlic Vinaigrette

Evidently, it’s pretty tough to get jazzed about salad dressing. Unless, of course, it’s in a cute little jar with a cute little label, and you can celebrate having made it without a DROP of olive oil landing on your clothes. (Which is quite the feat, given that 80% of my wardrobe is tainted by oil stains. How chic!)

The jar is so vital to this recipe that it may as well be an ingredient. I cannot stress enough how satisfying it is to throw a few ingredients into a jar, seal the lid (tightly, please), give it a couple of vigorous shakes, then marvel at the creamy, thick vinaigrette that has formed. As my girl Ina would say, ‘How easy is that?!’ (Mind you, Ina would probably have a member of her gaytourage shaking the jar, but I digress.)

Not only is the dressing made without dirtying a bowl/whisk/etc, but it’s all set to store in the fridge. I like to whip up a batch in the beginning of the week, then dress salads made up of whatever I have laying around. In this case: baby arugula, sliced radishes, and toasted walnuts. Not too shabby.

Now go give those bingo wings a workout and shake up some vinaigrette!

Notes
-I use empty roasted red pepper jars. Any empty, glass condiment jar will do. 
-The classic ratio for vinaigrettes is 3:1 (oil to acid, or in this case, lemon juice). Adjust as needed to suit your tastes.
-Speaking of tastes, taste as you go! You can always add more of any of these ingredients until you find the perfect balance.
-If dressing solidifies in fridge, remove the lid and microwave for about 10 seconds.

Ingredients
Extra virgin olive oil (~1/2 cup)           
Fresh lemon juice (from ~2 lemons)
Lemon zest (from ~1 lemon)
1-2 cloves garlic, peeled and grated
Dijon mustard (~1 tsp)
Coarse-ground mustard (~2 tsp)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions
-In a jar, combine olive oil, lemon juice + zest, grated garlic, and mustard.
-Seal jar and shake to until dressing is emulsified. (It will thicken and turn a pale yellow color.)
-Add salt and pepper, shake jar again, taste, and adjust seasoning as needed.
-Use immediately or store jar in fridge for about 1 week. Always shake before using.

7 comments:

  1. I make this vinaigrette all the time! I even make it in a small jar. I also like to throw in some Dill or Tarragon and use it to dress sauteed broccoli or baked potatoes! I've also used it for all kinds of roasted vegetables. It is SO worth getting excited about.

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    Replies
    1. Mmm never thought to put it over potatoes or roasted veggies - love that idea! Now I know what's for dinner tonight.

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  2. yum! if you want to rescue your oil stained clothes, use Carbona stain remover - they have different types for different stains. the stuff works great!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you! I've heard Dawn works wonders also - maybe I'll have a stain-off... ;)

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  3. Love your blog! For a delicious change, try champagne vinegar in addition to the lemon juice!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks so much! I've swapped red wine vinegar for the lemon juice before, but not champagne vinegar - I'll give that a go next!

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  4. Yum!! HOW AM I JUST NOW FINDING YOUR BLOG! argh.

    ReplyDelete

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