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Recently I made two families baby meals in the same week. Both received a big salad and my homemade dressing. Both came back with glowing reviews about the dressing. Made me think it was time to share on the blog officially. Plus it’s the week after thanksgiving and if you’re like me there’s only a few days before holiday parties start-up and our calorie intake is doomed for the rest of the year – thus it’s time to binge on a few salads.
I’ve been making dressings for years and this is my signature homemade salad dressing. You could consider it my “house” recipe. Every week for the last seven years or so, I have made 1-2 jars of this dressing or some variation. It was about 7 years ago that my husband asked that I stop buying dressings and just make them since they tasted much better. I’m not that extreme, there are some dressings I do still buy. This is our favorite and I hope you give it a try.
There are a few key hints to making this dressing. One is using white balsamic. I love the Trader Joe’s brand, because it’s inexpensive, sweet and mellow. This dressing can also be made with red wine vinegar, white wine vinegar or balsamic. Most homemade salad dressings call for 2 parts oil to 1 part vinegar. I prefer more vinegar flavor so I make my dressing with equal parts. If you don’t like it as strong just adjust the recipe to your preferred taste.
The second key ingredient is Grey Poupon Dijon. The mustard in the recipe works as the binder for the oil and vinegar. The two won’t separate as easily if you use it in your dressing. I’m pretty loyal to the brand, I’ve tried other Dijon, but they’re not worth the purchase. Remember 1 jar a week for 7 years of this dressing – trust me. The only thing I bend the rules for is a herbed Dijon. Those are always worth it. Adding fresh herbs to this dressing pumps up the flavor. Try all your favorite herbs like; thyme, tarragon, basil, dill, chives and oregano. One to two tablespoon finely chopped of any combo of herbs can be added.
The third key ingredient is a shallot. It’s a very rarely used member of the onion family. If you’ve never used one, you’ll find it next to the garlic. To mince it use a paring knife to cut small vertical and horizontal marks before slicing.
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Salad dressing:
1/4 cup white balsamic
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 shallot minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
In a jar with a tight lid, combine vinegar, mustard, shallot, salt and pepper. Put lid on and shake vigorously. Add oil and shake again.
- ¼ cup white balsamic
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 shallot minced
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- ¼ cup olive oil
- In a jar with a tight lid, combine vinegar, mustard, shallot, salt and pepper. Put lid on and shake vigorously. Add oil and shake again.
This is my favorite everyday salad combo as well. Mixed greens, carrot shreds, persian cucumbers, peppers, cherry tomatoes and all topped with crumbled blue cheese. Pretty salads have a variety of colors and thus a variety of vitamins!
Chicken Salad with Cilantro Lime Dressing
Arugula Pecorino and Red Wine Vinaigrette Salad
Pear, Gorgonozola & Pecan Salad – with amazing dressing
About how long will this stay good in an airtight container in the fridge?
I think about 5 days until herbs start to go bad in the dressing. If you make this without the herbs and shallot I would say 7+ days in the fridge.
Doesn’t matter : it takes 5 min max to make it fresh so eat it fresh !
Shallot and herbs can be added at the very last moment.
In Europe we use a lot of different vinegars and oils to vary the taste:
White wine/red wine/Cider/Xeres/Red wine with raspberries/White whine with taragon a, and s.o.
Oil : olive oil (a lot of different qualities and tastes), sunflower oil, salad mix oil etc.
Herbs can add another taste : parsley, taragon, garlic, thyme, chive, sage
Fresh cut is beautiful !
Eat fresh to eat well ! Supermarket is not the best ! You can grow a lot of fresh herbs in a very small garden ( 25 square feets )
Thanks Michel – Great suggestions! I too have a postage stamp garden and it’s all herbs and some strawberries.
I ended up using this recipe for inspiration as I didn’t have the specific ingredients on hand so I substituted a few ingredients and ended up with a wonderful concoction. I used red wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon french’s mustard and 1 teaspoon horseradish sauce instead of the Dijon, Montreal steak seasoning instead of the ground pepper and minced onion instead of the shallot. Dijon, shallots and white basalmic vinegar are on my grocery list for next time.
Thanks for the substitutes Susan! It’s always nice to have some great variations of a recipe.
This is how my aunt makes her salad dressing, and she is French, I thought you might think it’s funny!
Votre tante doit être un grand cuisinier – comme la plupart des Français sont.
Thanks you for sharing this recipe. This salad dressing is wonderful! The blend of ingredients are perfect. We made it the first time with a different kind of vinegar since we did not have while balsamic, and it was a little too bitter. With these exact ingredients,really works.
I love it too Renee. It’s Camille’s recipe, but I make it a couple a times per month. Thanks for stopping by.
Just made this to go with dinner tonight. I didn’t have white balsa if so I used half balsamic, half white vinegar. Everybody loved it, even the picky kids.
So quick to make too, only took a couple minutes!!
The picture shows extra virgin olive oil but the directions just say olive oil. Do you have a preference?
Melissa – great catch. Yes it should be extra virgin olive oil because of it’s fuller, richer taste. I’ll make the edit now.
I just made this for supper. I found it a little too oniony, so I added 1/2 tsp of italian herbs, and it was perfect. I served it over spinach salad with cranberries, pumpkin seeds, & sunflower seeds. It was honestly fantastic! My 3 year old loved it.
Hi Teri – Thanks for trying the recipe. If it’s too oniony for your taste omit the shallot next time. Maybe try a clove of garlic instead and herbs are always great!