Top Nine Salad Dressings

the top 9 stonesoup salad dressings
From Stonesoup

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Top 9? Why not round it out to top 10? Well I thought through my favourite dressings and this is what came up. I could have stretched it to one more but I liked the sound of 9.

I vary my ratios of oil to vinegar etc all the time. The recipes below should be taken as a guide only. Unless otherwise indicated they should make enough to dress a bag of prewashed leaves. But again it’s all up to you. As I mentioned in the intro, I usually use a mid range olive oil for salad dressings. You want good flavour but not to overpower everything.

i. caramelised red wine vinegar & wholegrain mustard
This is my favourite dressing at the moment, especially for a salad to accompany a big fryup for breakfast / brunch. I’ve been getting my caramelised red wine vinegar from Norton St Grocer. If you can’t find any regular red wine vinegar with a teaspoon of honey makes a good substitute.

1T caramelised red wine vinegar
1T wholegrain mustard
3T – 4T extra virgin olive oil

ii. aged balsamic & olive oil
An oldie but a goodie. I love the sweetness of balsamic that is so well combined with the vinegar during the aging process that it seems to be almost savoury. I should have ‘fessed up earlier. I actually have 2 balsamics on the go at the moment, an 8 year old for everyday and an old old vinegar which I think is 40 years old for special occasions and drizzling. I have been known to make a 1:1 oil:balsamic dressing if I’m in the mood for something really punchy. But the 1:2 below is more common. Classic to dress peppery wild rocket.

2T aged balsamic vinegar
4T extra virgin olive oil

iii. tarragon vinegar & dijon mustard
I love tarragon vinegar, it tempers the flavour of fresh tarragon and gives an interesting twist. To make your own, just shove 1/2 bunch tarragon in a bottle of white wine vinegar and allow it to sit for a few weeks. It will keep for ages. This dressing is also lovely with a regular white wine or Champagne vinegar.

1T tarragon vinegar
1T dijon mustard
4T extra virgin olive oil

iv. lemon juice & white wine vinegar
If your’e in an indecisive mood, this is the dressing for you. Sometimes I find lemon juice dressings to be a bit too ‘lemony’ without being sharp enough, this is where the wine vinegar helps.

1T lemon juice
1T white wine vinegar
4T extra virgin olive oil

v. onion & wine vinegar dressing
This is a lovely hearty, almost meaty dressing. I love it to dress a salad of warm lentils but it’s also good on leaves. This one keeps well in the fridge which is just as well since it takes a while to make. I LOVE how the onions soak up the vinegar and give little acidic bursts of freshness.

1 large brown onion, finely chopped
250mL (1C) olive oil
60mL (1/4C) sherry or other wine vinegar

Heat oil in a small saucepan and add onion. Simmer over a low heat until onion is soft but not brown. Remove from the heat and add vinegar and season. Allow to sit for at least 10 minutes for the onions to soak up the vinegar.

vi. tahini lemon dressing
Inspired by Sam & Sam Clarke of Moro Restaurant and CookbookCookbook fame. I originally discovered this dressing for a roast pumpkin and chickpea salad but it’s lovely as a sauce for fish or even to dress a salad with lots of crunchy greens like snowpeas or fresh asparagus. Haven’t yet used it to dress normal leaves.

1 clove garlic, finely pounded
4T lemon juice
4T tahini
3T water
2T extra virgin olive oil

vii. simple lemon juice
This is easily my most minimalist salad dressing. Forget about the oil and just squeeze lemon juice over. Good with a simple salad of tuna and mixed leaves.

viii. the token creamy dressing
I’m not the biggest fan of creamy salads. Something about the way the dressing doesn’t look right on the leaves. On potatoes it’s another story. This dressing also doubles as a sauce for fish or chicken. Again the quantities below make a bit over a cup of dressing which will be way more than you need to dress a bag of leaves.

2/3C whole egg mayonnaise
1/3C natural yoghurt
1 -2T lemon juice
1/2 small clove garlic, crushed, optional

ix. caper dressing
Another cooked dressing, this is great for main course salads that have fish or cheese starring in them. Adapted from a salad that appeared ages ago in Australian Gourmet Traveller. I’ve made it with and without the chives and both are good. IT might feel a bit weird t o be cooking the parsley but it adds a whole different difficult-to-articulate-dimension to the salad.

¼ C extra virgin olive oil
½ bunch flat leaf parley, leaves picked
½ bunch chives, finely chopped
1T capers in salt, well washed
2T lemon juice, or to taste

Place parsley leaves in a strainer and pour over boiling water to blanch. Refresh under cold water then squeeze dry and chop finely. Place in a small saucepan with capers and remaining oil and heat until it starts to sizzle. Remove from the heat and stir in lemon juice and chives and season.