Anne’s In the Kitchen Creamy Lemon Vinaigrette Dressing If you’re typically just an oil and vinegar or bottled dressing person when it comes to salads, promise me you’ll give this basic lemon vinaigrette a try! It will take your salads to the next level even though it is so darned simple! And it goes well on just about any salad. This could also be used as a base vinaigrette recipe – build on this to make your signature vinaigrette. If you make it a bit sweeter, it is a knockout for a salad with fresh fruit like strawberries and/or pineapple. It’s good even as a dipping sauce for chopped veggies. It uses ingredients you probably already have in your pantry!
PREP TIME: 5 minutes; TOTAL TIME: 5 minutes SERVINGS:3/4 cup
What You Need
¼ cup apple cider vinegar– one of the bases of this dressing. I’m a big fan of apple cider vinegar, but you can use whatever vinegar you have on hand like white wine vinegar. It is also good with balsamic vinegar
2 Tbs. lemon juice–You can squeeze fresh lemons but if you have frozen lemon juice cubes in your freezer (as I’ve encouraged you to do), I found two cubes were about right
2 Tbs.water– adds a bit of liquid.
1 Tbs. Dijon mustard– for some tang.
2 tsp. maple syrup– or honey (I use more like 2-3 Tbs.)
1 tsp. dried or 1 Tbs. fresh oregano– you can also use fresh, you’ll just need a little more. Feel free to mix this up with your favorite herbs like rosemary or thyme
1 or more cloves garlic–I used more for an extra kick of garlic flavor.
½ tp sea salt
¼ tsp or to taste of fresh ground black pepper– extra seasoning.
½ cup very good olive oil– the other base of this dressing!
How to Make This DressingAre you ready for how simple this recipe is? Aside from the olive oil, add all the ingredients into a bowl and whisk. Then slowly add the olive oil as you continue to whisk until emulsified. And voila! Easy homemade dressing that is simple but delicious and will elevate any salad. You can also blend everything together in your blender or shake the dressing together in a jar. NOTE: I recently acquired a Cuisinart mini food processor, and I used it to first chop the garlic cloves, and then threw every other ingredient into the work bowl all at once and pressed the button! Done.