Wednesday, July 16, 2014

3 Super Salad Dressings

Salads...yeah, many of us aren't too enthused when thinking of salad as a main course for a meal. Unless there's plenty of meat, cheese, or other internal garnishes coming to the party you may just be looking at a plate of greens.

But it's the middle of summer, and most nights it's way too hot to even think about turning on the oven, and even so, all I want is a refreshing, easy to throw together meal. Salads score in each of those categories. But is it filling? Exciting? Enough to satisfy you, and not leave you wishing for more? If you play your cards right,
it's not a problem. Packing your salad with protein rich foods, like nuts, cheese, seeds, couscous, and other grains, will make your salad much more filling. Toast some nuts! Grate in some parmesan! Cook up some couscous or quinoa, or throw in some chia or pumpkin seeds! My new favorite thing to do is have a super simple salad of greens from my garden and a quick viniagrette, and throw an over easy egg on top. It wilts the greens a little, and the runny yolk is like its own dressing. Sooo perfect. My favorite dressing for this salad is a honey-mustard viniagrette. It's sweet, spicy, and delicious.



I've got 3 of my favorite salad dressings here, and they're all super versatile and easy to use on just about any salad, wrap, or sandwich. Beat the heat, and eat a salad!

Honey Mustard Viniagrette

  • 1/4 C stone ground or whole grain mustard 
  • 1/4 C Honey
  • 1/2 C Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 1 C Vegetable Oil
  • Salt and Pepper
  • 1 tsp sugar
Whisk together mustard, honey, and vinegar. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. While whisking, slowly drizzle in the oil. It will emulsify, which means that the oil and vinegar will become cohesive, and not separate. Once done, season with salt and pepper, and add sugar as needed. If your dressing tastes too acidic, you can add more oil, but be careful of adding too much because it will start to coat your mouth in an unpleasant way. Sugar helps to tame the acidity.

Creamy Avocado Dressing

  • 1 Avocado
  • 1/2 shallot
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 habenero pepper (de-seeded)
  • 1/2 C Champagne Vinegar
  • 1 C Buttermilk
  • Salt and Pepper
If you have a food processor, use it. If not, use a blender. First, blend the avocado, shallot, garlic, habenero, and vinegar until smooth. Then slowly drizzle in the buttermilk. You may need more or less to get the desired creamy texture. Season with salt and pepper.

Raspberry Peach Balsamic Viniagrette

  • 1 pint fresh raspberries
  • 1 peach, skinned
  • 1/2 C Balsamic vinegar
  • 1 C vegetable oil
  • 1 TBSP sugar
  • 2 TBSP Poppy seeds
Use an immersion blender, or normal blender, to combine the fruit and vinegar until smooth. While still blending, slowly drizzle in the oil until an emulsion forms, and then continue to drizzle in while blending. You can strain the seeds out, but I kinda like the texture, and add poppy seeds to give more of a deliberate texture. Season with sugar. 


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