Simple Lemon Vinaigrette

Well, I thought I was going to get this out much sooner. My bad. But here it is. One of the things I have learned in my very blessed life is that salad can, and will, taste good. Usually with the correct dressing.

I recently had a best friend over for a salad dressing workshop. Partly to force myself to write down recipes in preparation for this, but also to share some knowledge and get a little feedback. This was one of the recipes we worked on, and it is definitely my favorite and the one I make most often. It is simple, adaptable, beautiful, hardworking, elegant, slightly boujie, and always there for my crunchy salad needs. My lemy-vinaigretty guardian angel.

For this post, i’m just giving you the basics. Something that can be easily mastered and adapted to your specific tastes and added to whatever you’d like. It’s perfect in a chopped crunchy veg situation, tossed with roasted vegetables, with a simple green salad, or in a apple-carrot-brussels sprout slaw as pictured below (recipe to follow at some point, possibly).

The key to this salad dressing, or any salad dressing really, is to make it a little saltier than you think it should be. Once it’s chilling with all those vegetables or grains or whatever, that salt will spread out and enhance the flavor of the entire dish, and it won’t be as overpowering as it seems when you’re tasting the dressing on its own.

Give it a try and let me know what you think. 😘

Ingredients
1/3 cup lemon juice (fresh squeezed will make all the difference)
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2/3 cup olive oil

Optional ingredients
1 tsp fresh lemon zest
1/2 clove of garlic, finely chopped or grated
1 tbsp honey

Directions
In a small bowl, combine lemon juice, dijon, salt, pepper, and lemon zest, garlic, and honey if using. Whisk until combined.

Slowly stream in the olive oil while whisking, the goal is to create an emulsified mixture (no separation between the lemon juice and oil). If your dressing is separating, stop adding oil and whisk until the dressing comes back together, then continue to stream in the oil.

When finished, the dressing should be completely emulsified and slightly thickened. Taste, and adjust for salt.