I’ve always been a fan of creamy salad dressing—chunky blue
cheese, buttermilk ranch, greek goddess—the creamier the better. It wasn’t
until a dinner party two summers ago that I discovered the first vinaigrette
that I actually enjoyed. The salad
was simple—lettuce, avocado, red onion and tomato, topped with the most divine
salad dressing I’ve ever had. It was sweet, salty, tangy and perfect. I
demanded the recipe on the spot, and never looked back.
Drum roll please…
1 part red wine vinegar (1/4 cup)
3 parts safflower oil (3/4 cup)
4 tablespoons agave nectar
1 squirt sriacha
Shake it all together and pour over the salad of your choice.
Tonight my salad was mixed greens, gorgonzola, strawberries, red onion, and
pecans.
One of the great things about this recipe is its
versatility. You can make little ingredient switches and give the dressing a
whole new flavor profile. The original recipe called for white sugar and
tobasco—two ingredients I never have on hand—so I swapped them out for agave
nectar and sriacha. You also have some flexibility with the type vinegar that
you use. I usually use tarragon vinegar but realized I was out when I went to
make the dressing.
Here are some other ideas for introducing new flavors:
Asian: splash of
sesame oil, grated ginger, splash of soy sauce
Raspberry: pureed
raspberries to replace some of the oil
Blueberry: same
technique as raspberry
Honey: replace
agave with honey
What twist are you going to put on this recipe?
sounds yummy !!!!
ReplyDeleteDrizzling the dressing over warm cooked carrots appeals to me.
ReplyDeleteLove the idea of the agave nectar. I have some in my spice closet.
I have a really delicious recipe for vanilla scented carrots, see below:
DeleteHere's what you need:
Enough baby carrots to cover the bottom of pan in 1 layer
1 splash of safflower oil (or any other mild flavored oil)
1/2 vanilla bean pod
2 tbs. butter
1 1/2 tbs. honey
2 tbs. champagne vinegar
Melt the butter and splash of oil with vanilla bean on medium heat. When butter is melted and smells amazing, toss in carrots. Saute carrots until cooked through, then toss in champagne vinegar and honey and cook for another minute or so. Add a dash of salt to bring out the flavor and you're ready to chow!
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do :-)
Sounds wonderful...now I can open my bottle of champagne vinegar.
DeleteBrewing up tarragon vinegar this week, which is also good on carrots, and dare I say it...potato salad.
Kitty seems like he adores his momma cook.
ReplyDelete