Salad dressings are a great way to get cooking immediately and learn a lot about what flavors you like and how to balance salt, acid and fat in a dish. Generally, every dressing I make follows a formula that consists of an acid, oil, herbs, salt and other flavoring agents. Recipes are often just a jumping off point for your own creative exploration. Often the best dressings are made because of improv or unexpected ingredients.
When I was a working as a variation of a garde manger (cold foods station cook) at a restaurant, I would usually be making salads for staff meals. There wasn’t any time to google the recipes for dressings, so I had to rely on this above formula to whip something up in 10 to 15 minutes.
Tips and tricks
bring out your mixing bowl and whisk
You always want to give yourself the right tools for this job and a large enough mixing bowl and whisk are the two most fundamental. It’s also crucial to stabilize your mixing bowl on the table. I typically use a kitchen towel wrapped in a donut shape under the bowl. This will allow you to whisk fast and not spill everything.
when you add your oil, pour slowly
The only way to ensure a correct emulsification is to pour your oil into the dressing slowly. If you remember learning in middle school science class, this would be considered a heterogenous mixture. That means the oil and vinegar do not typically want to be together. If you pour too quickly, they’ll never combine into one.
Be aware of your dressing consistency
There’s nothing worse than eating big chunks of clumpy dressing in a salad. It’s okay to add a little bit of water to thin your dressing out to a consistency that will gently goat the salad greens. If you do add water, be aware that the flavor will diminish slightly.
Always be tasting and have salt ready
The two most critical tools in this process are spoons and salt. Spoons are useful to taste as you go and make adjustments. If you aren’t using your senses, you aren’t really cooking. Also, the one variable that is most easy to modify is salt. Adding a bit of salt to enhance the flavor of all the other ingredients is a natural part of the process.
Recipes
1. Greek dressing
This salad dressing utilizes some basic pantry staples and doesn’t rely on fresh ingredients. It’s a flavorful dressing that is surprisingly versatile. If you want to add some spice, I recommend adding some chipotle peppers in adobo sauce to the mix. This dressing can take you in so many directions and don’t be afraid to improv.
2. Cilantro lime dressing
This recipe is all about fresh ingredients like cilantro and lime. Feel free to improv off of this base dressing and take it in any direction you like. This flavor profile works in Mexican, Indian and Thai food. You can add subtle differences depending on what cuisine you are serving for dinner.
3. Ranch dressing
This dressing is going to deviate from the formula slightly with the appearance of buttermilk in the mix. You will need to plan ahead if you don’t see yourself buying buttermilk all the time. I do find that this dressing can be enhanced with roasted poblano peppers or jalapenos.
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Thanks for sharing.
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