It’s been said before: great results depend as much on good ingredients as on solid recipes. With salad dressings, this is especially true, since the ingredients are few. So it stands to reason that the better and more carefully chosen the ingredients are, the more delicious your salads will be.
In this section, we’ll describe the basic components of most salad dressings—oils, acids, and flavorings (discussed in descending order of amount used)—and explain the types that are commonly used in these recipes.
Without oil, there are no vinaigrettes—in fact, there would be precious few dressings. Oil carries flavor, adds luster, and helps a dressing cling to a salad.
Oil doesn’t stay fresh forever. Light, heat, and air are the enemies of freshness, so keep oils well sealed and stored in a dark, relatively cool spot. And, just as you do with milk or cream before using it, give your oil a quick sniff before pouring it to ensure that no rancid or off odors or flavors have developed.
Neutral oils have little to no detectable fragrance or flavor (and higher smoke points than olive oil). Many types of oil fit into this category, including canola, vegetable, corn, sunflower, safflower, grapeseed, and some would say peanut (though we’re not convinced about that—we swear that sometimes you can taste it). In recipes that call for neutral oil, we specify canola because it’s so common you probably have a bottle in your kitchen, as well as sunflower and safflower, which, to us, have an especially clean flavor.
So, in vinaigrettes and dressings with few ingredients, where the flavor of each one really counts, why are we talking about oils without any flavor? Because with some dressings, the flavor of olive oil just doesn’t work. A flavorless oil will give the dressing the volume and consistency it needs without obscuring or conflicting with other flavors.
Oils pressed from nuts—think walnuts, hazelnuts, or almonds—range in flavor from mild to robust. Raw nut oils are light in color and flavor, whereas their toasted/roasted versions are darker, highly aromatic, and more forceful.
While we love toasted nut oils, their flavors can dominate a dressing and throw the balance out of whack. So in some recipes, such as in Pomegranate Molasses–Walnut Oil Vinaigrette (page 54) or Maple-Mustard Vinaigrette (page 49), you’ll find that we also use another oil to keep the nut oil in check.
All nut oils are more perishable than olive oil and neutral oils, so keep them in the refrigerator. Cold temperatures cause some types of oil to congeal; if yours has, let it stand at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes, until it’s fluid enough to pour.
The most flavorful type of olive oil, and what we specify most often, is extra-virgin. Olives are “pressed” (or spun in a centrifuge) for oil several times, and extra-virgin is obtained from the first pressing, without the use of heat or chemicals. Extra-virgin’s acidity level is no greater than 1 percent, which accounts in large part for its distinct yet relatively mellow flavor.
Extra-virgin olive oils offer a wide range of fragrance and flavor notes, including fruity, buttery, herbaceous, grassy, and peppery. These characteristics stand out more in costly artisanal oils; if you have one of these, save it for use as a finishing oil. A flavorful extra-virgin olive oil from the supermarket is fine for salad dressings.
You’ll see that in some recipes, such as Apple Cider, Grainy Mustard, and Shallot Vinaigrette (page 26) and Fresh Mint Vinaigrette (page 30), we specify a mild-tasting extra-virgin olive oil. If your olive oil is assertive, mix it with an equal quantity of neutral oil (see page 10) to temper its flavor.
As olive oil classifications descend to “virgin” and then “pure” or “olive oil,” so do flavor nuances. In supermarkets, you’ll also encounter “light” olive oil, which is aggressively filtered to be lighter still in color, fragrance, and flavor. Though some might disagree, we consider light olive oil a neutral oil.
Sesame oil can be pressed from either raw or toasted sesame seeds. Raw sesame oil is light in color and relatively mild in taste. Toasted sesame oil, on the other hand, resembles dark maple syrup in color; has a rich, heady aroma; and is intense and assertive in flavor. Toasted sesame oil is the type you’ll find in a few recipes (of the Asian ilk) in this book. Just a little toasted sesame oil goes a long way, so it’s used only in very small amounts as a flavor accent. Like nut oils, sesame oil, both raw and toasted, should be stored in the refrigerator to extend its shelf life.
Vinaigrettes and dressings require some type of acidic ingredient for flavor, brightness, and balance. Here’s a quick rundown of the acids we rely on most.
To point out the obvious, apple cider vinegar is made from fermented apple juice, which gives it both bold fruitiness and an earthy quality. We prefer the flavor and aroma of raw unfiltered apple cider vinegar.
Freshly squeezed, please. Bottled? Don’t bother. Bottled citrus juices taste harsh compared to the real deal. When shopping for both lemons and limes, look for fruit that’s plump and round, has smoothish skin, yields slightly when you squeeze it gently, and feels heavy for its size. To get the most juice from a lemon or lime, we roll it back and forth on the work surface using light pressure before cutting it.
Delicate, mild, and ever so slightly sweet, rice vinegar is a great match for ingredients with subtle flavors and in Asian-inspired dressings. When shopping, avoid seasoned rice vinegar, which contains salt and sugar.
Made from the wine of the same name, sherry vinegar is our MVP for its subtle sweetness, nutty and woodsy notes, richness, and adaptability. Distinct and flavorful, sherry vinegar holds its own with other assertive ingredients. It’s common to see the term vinagre de Jerez on the label; Jerez is the famous sherry-producing region of Spain.
You may notice the absence of regular balsamic vinegar in these recipes. While we love inky, syrupy balsamic vinegar as a condiment, we’re not mad for its color in vinaigrettes and dressings because it can make for dark and murky mixtures.
Enter white balsamic vinegar. Whereas regular balsamic vinegar is caramelized in both flavor and color, and aged in charred wood barrels that darken it further, white balsamic is produced at lower temperatures under pressure and aged in uncharred barrels to limit darkening. White balsamic has some of the sweetness of its dark sibling, but it’s less syrupy and arguably less complex. We see that as a positive, though. To us, white balsamic tastes lighter and cleaner, and we feel it makes a more handsome vinaigrette.
Wine vinegars are the John Q. Public of the vinegar world—commonplace and somewhat anonymous. In salad dressings, we choose wine vinegars when we’re looking for a nondescript brightness—one without distinct flavor traits. In our experience, red wine vinegars tend toward sharp; white wine vinegars are smoother, making them, generally speaking, our preference.
Oils and acids are just part of the story; full flavor depends on a few other ingredients.
We would argue that fresh garlic is as essential to life as water and air. When choosing garlic, look for heads that are plump, tight, and firm when squeezed in your palm.
As garlic ages, a pale green germ will develop in the center of each clove. We notice a hot, bitter flavor in the germ, so we remove it. Simply halve the clove lengthwise, look for a green core in each half, and, if present, pry it out with the tip of the knife. (A very young germ may be yellowish and not as sharp in flavor, but remove it anyway since you’ve cut open the clove.)
To keep salad eaters from biting into pieces of raw garlic, we often call for cloves to be grated or minced to a paste. Grating is the speedier method and is best done on a rasp-style grater (such as a Microplane). To mince to a paste, first chop the garlic, sprinkle with a pinch of kosher salt, and continue to chop, occasionally pressing and grinding with the flat of the knife blade, until the garlic is quite smooth.
When it comes to herbs in salad dressings, we apply the same logic that we do to lemon juice: Stick with fresh. Some dried herbs have their place, namely in stews, braises, and soups, but we dislike them in salad dressing. The price you pay for the potent flavor of fresh herbs is that they’re highly perishable. We try to buy the smallest quantities we can find (hint: sometimes we look for small amounts of several herbs packaged together in poultry or seafood blends) and replace them as needed.
Of the many types of salt available these days, for dressings we prefer kosher salt for its clean flavor, grab-ably large crystals, and dissolvability. Diamond Crystal and Morton’s are the two most widely available brands, and their crystal sizes differ. Morton’s has a larger, flatter flake that compacts more and therefore weighs more per volume measurement. We use Diamond Crystal, and all the recipes in this book were developed with it. We suggest that you use it too, if possible. If you need to use Morton’s, start by using about 30 percent less than the recipe specifies; if the dressing doesn’t taste right, add a little more.
Iodized table salt tastes a little funky to us, but it’s not a disaster flavorwise. If table salt is what you have, use it, but use about 50 percent less than you would kosher salt.
Mustard is a dressing multitasker. Depending on the quantity added, it can be a subtle flavor enhancer, a mild flavor element, or a bold flavor force. And it’s always an aid to emulsification, contributing to the smooth consistency that is a goal of most dressing recipes. We often use Dijon mustard for its sophisticated, winey notes and smooth consistency, but we reach for whole-grain mustard when we’re looking to add a little texture and visual interest to a dressing.
Black pepper—freshly ground, please. Enough said.
White peppercorns are black peppercorns with their hulls removed. Their flavor is milder and sweeter than that of black pepper, and is a good match for many Asian-accented foods. Black pepper can stand in for white pepper, if that’s what you have—just use less of it.
We use shallots to flavor a lot of these dressings because they provide an oniony pungency (shallots and onions are both in the Allium family) that’s noticeably less brash than that of their larger cousins.
Shop for shallots that appear plump and are firm, without a spongy feel, shriveled ends, or obvious sprouts. Like onions and garlic, keep shallots somewhere dry, cool, and well ventilated, but not in the refrigerator.
Arugula is tart and peppery, and depending on the type, it can be downright sharp. The texture is delicate, so the leaves are quick to wilt. We’re partial to baby arugula rather than mature arugula.
Baby kale has a flavor not unlike that of baby spinach, and a sturdier texture.
Baby spinach has a slightly tangy, mineral-rich flavor and texture between delicate and sturdy. We opt for baby spinach rather than the dense, crinkly leaves of mature bunch spinach.
Butter/Bibb lettuce has a mild, sweet flavor and relatively delicate texture. Boston lettuce is a type of butter lettuce.
Cabbage is mild and sweet. Its crunchy, super-sturdy texture means it should be shredded finely. It also takes well to braising, sautéing, and stir-frying.
Endive has a very mild bitterness and small, succulent, oblong leaves with sturdy cores and delicate edges.
Escarole is another great salad green with a mildly bitter flavor. The stems are crisp and sturdy, and the leaves are quite frilly.
Flat-leaf parsley is generally thought of as an herb, but its deep green, tender leaves make a perfect counterpoint to a wide range of greens, from sweet to bitter. Parsley’s flavor is mild but mineral and grassy.
Frisée has a distinctly and pleasantly bitter flavor and lacy leaves that can be bogged down by thick dressings.
Green leaf lettuce has a mild, sweet flavor and a texture at the midpoint of delicate and sturdy.
Iceberg lettuce is often overlooked or even maligned. It has its place—under Avocado Ranch, Sweet and Spicy Peanut, and Buttermilk Black-and-Blue dressings.
Lacinato kale has a deeply mineral, earthy flavor and a very sturdy texture that softens and becomes more pleasing when rubbed with dressing and allowed to rest for about 30 minutes.
Mesclun is a colorful mix of baby lettuces with a range of generally mild flavors and very delicate, easily overwhelmed textures.
Mizuna is a Japanese green that is becoming more widely available. The slender, serrated leaves have a slightly peppery bite but are not quite as assertive as arugula.
Radicchio has gorgeous white-and-claret-colored leaves, with a mildly peppery flavor and, like endive, sturdy cores and tender edges. Cut into wedges, heads of radicchio take well to a brief visit on a hot grill.
Red leaf lettuce has a mild, sweet flavor and a texture more delicate than most green leaf varieties, but sturdier than really delicate greens like mesclun.
Romaine is one of our often-chosen salad greens. It has a mild, sweet flavor and a sturdy, ready-for-almost-every-type-of-dressing texture. Halved romaine hearts are great when charred on a hot grill.
Watercress has a bold, spicy, peppery flavor. The leaves are delicate and stems are abundant. We’re fans of “live” watercress, which is sold with roots attached, because the leaves contain much less grit and the stems are tender.
