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Red Wine Vinaigrette

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If you are trying to get away from pre-packaged, processed foods, salad dressings are the easiest place to start. Any dressing can be made at home, from a simple vinaigrette to a creamy blue cheese. My current favorite is a red wine vinaigrette. This couldn't be easier to make and I always get a ton compliments on it when I serve it to guests. Here is a rough guide (it's not exact enough for me to really call it a recipe - adjust the amounts depending on how much dressing you need at the moment).

Red Wine Vinaigrette

garlic, one clove roughly chopped
salt
dried oregano
dried basil
fresh ground pepper
red wine vinegar
olive oil

The trick to making a yummy salad dressing is starting with a garlic paste, using a mortar and pestle. Place the chopped garlic and a few pinches of salt in the mortar.


Using the pestle, grind into a paste. It should look something like this:


Once you have your garlic paste, put in whatever container you are going to use for storing and serving the dressing. I usually use a half pint Ball jar. Add in the dried basil and dried oregano (about 1/4 tsp). I crumble up the herbs as put them in the jar. Give your peppermill a few grinds directly into the jar. Add your red wine vinegar, about 1/4 cup.


Add in extra virgin olive oil, about 1/2 cup. Screw on the top and shake vigorously, until all ingredients are well blended. Taste and adjust as needed. Too sour? Add more oil. Too oily? Add more vinegar. You get the idea.


You are now ready to dress your salad! This will keep for at least a week in the fridge (I've stored it for as long as a month before and it's been fine). Just give it a good shake before you use it.

**Quick edit**
A note on ratios. Most chefs and cooking schools will tell you that the ratio to be used for vinaigrettes is 3:1 (oil to vinegar). That is clearly not the ratio I used above - I just don't like my dressing to be that oily, so that's not how I make it. I'm not saying that I have a more refined palette than almost every chef out there, I'm just saying that we should cook what we want to eat. So play with the ratios and find what pleases you.
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