This classic vinaigrette enhances your fresh garden greens and beautiful farmer’s market produce without adding the odd flavors you find in most prepared salad dressings. Three basics get you there: Dijon mustard, vinegar, and an extra virgin olive oil. Quality matters, so taste around until you find your favorites. I like Edmond Fallot’s Dijon, B.R. Cohn’s Champagne vinegar, and the olive oil from California Olive Ranch. (Find them in Bozeman at Joe’s Parkway!)
French Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp vinegar
- ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard Edmond Fallot
- 2 pinches salt Maldon
- freshly ground black pepper, a little or a lot
- 4-6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
-
Whisk vinegar with mustard and salt. Drizzle in olive oil while whisking continuously. Transfer to a glass jar and store extra in the refrigerator.
Recipe Notes / Tips
- Drizzle dressing over the salad tablespoon by tablespoon so you don't soak it with too much dressing
- Olive oil hardens in the refrigerator, but will return to its liquid state as it warms to room temperature
- Variations:
- honey mustard: increase mustard to 1 teaspoon + 1 teaspoon honey
- lemon: substitute fresh squeezed lemon juice for the vinegar
- shallot: finely mince 1 shallot and combine with vinegar and let sit 10 minutes before mixing in the mustard and olive oil.
- Building a fantastic salad:
- leafy greens + thinly sliced crunchy vegetable (radish, bok choy, kohlrabi, snap peas, celery)
- pea shoots or sprouts
- something rich: avocado, goat cheese, or parmigiano-reggiano
- something nutty: toasted pepitas or pine nuts or pistachios or walnuts
- something bread: sourdough bread or croutons
