Do you find that some people have particular flair with dressing?
I used to be crap at salad dressings till one day many years ago when my friend Peter the painter told me his always-perfect dressing was one part vinegar to three parts oil, and I’ve stuck religiously to that ratio ever since. I also invariably stick to the best extra-virgin olive oil I can find (which at the moment is the luscious Moon Over Martinborough oil, bought from Jared and Rick online via their beautiful and entertaining blog), and Giusti balsamic vinegar, which results in consistently good dressing.
But that consistency means I tend to play it rather safe – and given the amount of salad we eat over summer, the same ol’ dressing gets pretty boring.
Other great cooks of my acquaintance – notably my dear friend Ms E – are much more adventurous with salad dressings. E is particularly enamoured of raspberry vinegar. She has very generously given me a couple of bottles over the years and I absolutely love it, specially with bitter leaves like rocket. And the Empress is a fan of a little walnut oil in her dressings, I know, and I’ve loved that too, but for some reason eventually revert to my boring old balsamic & oil combo.
But no more: I hereby announce my intention to revifify my salad dressings – and I shall need your help.
Now, before I send you over to where Jules at Stonesoup has gathered a very good list of her favourite dressings and tips for blinging up a salad, tell me your secrets.
I want your fave dressings – ingredients, ratios, combos, and applications. From vinaigrette to mayonnaise to herby numbers, sweet or sour, outlandish or classic, please share your best dressed ideas, so we can all give our salads a little more zing this summer …
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