Throwing together a last minute salad? Never worry about having to run to the store for pre-bottled dressing again, because Chef Ollie has three super simple homemade salad dressing recipes that you can make with ingredients you’ve probably already got in the fridge!
Recipe # 1: ASPO, Acid, Salt, Pepper, Oil Dressing
by Ollie Honderd
Ingredients
- vinegar, lemon, or other citrus juice
- salt
- pepper
- oil (try Georgia Olive Oil!)
Preparation
- Sprinkle a few well-controlled drips of vinegar or citrus juice onto the salad, mix thoroughly with a delicate claw-shaped hand, and taste—if you taste the flavor of the lettuce/green/salad and a little pinch of acid you are done.
- Sprinkle a small pinch of salt and a few grounds of black pepper evenly onto the salad, mix thoroughly with a delicate claw-shaped hand, and taste. If you can taste the salt’s impact on the salad (like the volume has been raised), you are done.
- Add a few well controlled drips of oil to the salad. Mix thoroughly with a delicate claw-shaped hand, and taste—if you taste the flavor of the lettuce/salad/green, the acid, the salt and now the delicate richness and mouthfeel of the oil—all working together in a balanced way but NOT overwhelming the original taste of the lettuce, you are done mak.ing this homemade salad dressing
Tips
- My favorite vinegars to use are sherry and red wine; lemon and lime juice work great… orange juice might need an additional bump of white vinegar because it’s not acidic enough and will add too much liquid to your salad
- Olive oil is a great go-to, but nut oils like walnut or hazelnut add a lot of flavor to your salad.
- Be very diligent with the amount of oil you use at it (and not vinegar) is the main culprit for wilting greens
Recipe # 2: Everyday Vinaigrette
Makes a scant cup
Ingredients
- 1T dijon mustard
- ¼ C vinegar
- 2 T minced shallot or onion (optional)
- 1 clove garlic minced (optional)
- ½ C olive oil
- Salt
- Pepper
- sugar
Preparation
- Whisk together mustard, vinegar and shallots/onion/garlic if using
- Slowly pour oil into mixture while whisking constantly to emulsify.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt, pepper, sugar or more vinegar or oil.
Tips
- Another easy method to mix/emulsify is putting all the ingredients in a lidded jar and shaking
- If you’re using the whisking method, you may want a wet towel curled into a circle under your bowl to hold it in place as you whisk and pour
- This is a 2:1 vinaigrette (oil:vinegar)… 3:1 ratio is often lauded as the best ratio, but I find the salad gets too soggy and isn’t acidic enough… either way, use a light touch when dressing your salad; a little goes a long way, mix the salad well with your homemade salad dressing and serve immediately.
- Vinegars—sherry vinegar is my favorite to use in a vinaigrette, followed by red wine vinegar.
Recipe # 3: Homemade Buttermilk Ranch
Makes a pint
Ingredients
- 1 C mayo (preferably Duke’s)
- ⅔ C greek yogurt
- ⅓ C buttermilk
- 1 clove garlic minced or grated
- ¼ C chives or dill, minced (1 small bunch)
- Black pepper
- salt
- lemon juice
Preparation
- Whisk together mayo, yogurt, buttermilk, garlic, herbs in a bowl
- Add a generous amount of black pepper, salt, and lemon juice to taste
- Keeps well in fridge for at least 1 week
Tips
- For a thinner dressing as opposed to a thicker dip, use more buttermilk and/or lemon juice
- Get creative with this recipe—swapping out herbs, adjusting ratios, adding shallots, lemon zest, chipotle purée or smoked paprika for example
