Flavour hack Dijon Vinaigrette
Flavour hacks.
A long-life salad dressing is perhaps the most obvious ‘flavour hack’; the inefficiency of making a fresh vinaigrette each time is madness. We have a large glass jar of this ‘house dressing’ on the go at all times, which we get through with alarming speed.
Of course some salads may call for unique dressings - a creamy kefir based dressing on this white winter panzanella, for example, or zippy citrus laced dressing on this peanut & tempeh laab - but for your run-of-the-mill side salads or a hearty Niçoise you can’t beat this thick and punchy Dijon vinaigrette.
This recipe is best made in an old jar jar and will last for up to one month in the fridge.
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 0 minutes
This recipe makes 1 jam jar / 16 serves
Ingredients:
2 large cloves garlic
2 heaped tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp sugar or runny honey
60 ml red wine vinegar
150ml extra virgin olive oil
Generous pinch flakey sea salt
Generous pinch cracked black pepper
Method:
Grate or mince your garlic until as smooth as possible and combine with the rest of the dressing ingredients in a clean jam jar. We’ve shared notes on how to sterilise a jam jar below.
Screw on the lid tight and shake the jar vigorously. Shaking is key to emulsify the dressing so that it becomes thick, smooth and glossy.
Give it a quick taste and see if you would like an extra pinch of salt? Another dash of vinegar for more acidity? Or another dash of oil if the flavours seem too bold?
Keep the dressing in your fridge where it will last for up to one month. Note that the garlic flavour will strengthen overtime and it infuses into the oil and vinegar, but its spicy astringency will mellow.