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Do you have a house salad dressing? I will confess that I’m one of those people who tends to have both store bought dressing purchased in a lazy moment or a ‘ooh, look at this shiny new product moment’. For example, I will never accept that Waitrose Honey Mustard dressing is not delicious, and I’ve got a bottle of Baxter’s Mango, Coconut and Kombucha dressing on the go right now that is also pretty awesome.
I do also, however, always have a bottle of this dressing in the fridge: a classic French vinaigrette, sweetened with a little honey and given a little bit of a je ne sai quoi by the addition of the tiniest amount of truffle oil. I’ve adapted it to make a smaller batch just for me (J is not really a dressing, or a salad person) from Sophie Michell’s fantastic book Chef on a Diet (I have no idea why it is always so discounted, but it is usually only a couple of pounds on Amazon for a copy! #ad) which is my go-to whenever I fancy something a little lighter for dinner. My go-to method for making cauliflower rice comes from there, as well as this great Coconut Kedgeree recipe.
This dressing recipe has stood the test of time. Other dressings I’ve loved have come and gone. There was the basil vinaigrette from the Lemonade Cookbook(ad) I was OBSESSED with one summer, and then of course there is the Asian dressing for some reason I’ve just stopped making from my own Student Eats (ad).
But I’ve always made, loved, and kept on making this simple dressing to keep in a jar or bottle in the fridge for pretty much all of my salad needs. It’s even essential to some of my favourite dishes: the salad I serve on the side of a lasagna – be it my Classic Bolognese Lasagna or my Stupidly Simple Veggie Lasagna – just tastes plain wrong without it.
A few small ingredient notes here: while usually I swear by the extra virgin olive oil I get with my (gifted) Pomora subscription, for dressings like this where I’m using a lot of it, so I want a good tasting oil, but not my fanciest and most expensive I usually have a second big bottle on the go. Waitrose Extra Virgin Olive Oil is really good (and less than £6 a litre – we used up almost the entire bottle shooting One Pan Pescatarian #ad) and while it is a bit pricier, the LEON one you can buy in Sainsbury’s (gifted, but you can bet I’ll be buying it again) is also excellent.
On the other hand, use the best and fanciest white wine vinegar you’ve got – I love Aspall’s Sauvignon White Wine Vinegar, which you can get in most supermarkets.
I'm a food writer, professional recipe developer and cookbook author living in the English Countryside. I love creating easy, accessable recipes filled with vibrant world flavours that are manageable on busy weeknights. Simple and delicious dinners, from my kitchen to yours!
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My Book
One Pan Pescatarian: 100 Delicious Dinners – Veggie, Vegan, Fish
My second cookbook contains 100 delicious dinner recipes, all of which are either vegetarian, vegan or which celebrate fish and seafood - all cooked in either one pot or one pan.*
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