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The word “refueling” is, perhaps, unusual for the Russian ear and in some ways even funny. Meanwhile, this word refers to something without which no salad is possible in principle. Salad dressing (the word “sauce” in this context I don’t like at all) can both combine several disparate ingredients into a single whole, and spoil a good idea, so the importance of such a task as preparing a salad dressing should not be neglected.
Alas, or rather fortunately, there is no universal recipe here: if you open the recipe catalog and click on the “Salads” link, you will see for yourself that I offer my own dressing for each of them. Hard? Nothing like this! Salad dressings are akin to a designer – and after reading this manual, you can correctly “assemble” dressing (or, if you prefer, sauce) for any salad that dictates your imagination.
Introduction to Saladology
However, at first, as usual, a small introduction. At first, when preparing a dressing, it is best to start from the classic, long-proven proportions. For me, such a classic is the following ratio:
For example, honey is good in dressings where there is ham, aged cheese or other umami-flavored ingredient, mustard – in salads with neutral herbs (for example, iceberg or lettuce), soy sauce – in salads with cucumbers, sesame oil and any Asian ingredients, and Worcester sauce – in salads with roast beef.
I usually prepare the salad dressing in a bowl and beat it with a fork until smooth, or you can prepare the dressing in a small jar – shake it a few times and it’s done. Don’t season the salad unless you are ready to serve it right away – otherwise it will get very wet. what a sight to behold. If you need to prepare your salad ahead of time, place all the ingredients in a bowl, prepare the dressing separately, and mix before serving. Most salad dressings will keep in the refrigerator for at least a few days.
Hence the conclusion, even two: firstly, you can prepare a dressing “for future use”, and secondly, do not throw away the excess, they will still be useful to you. Well, now we turn to talking about the main ingredients of salad dressings.
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Oil
The basis of most dressings is vegetable oil (melted butter or melted fat are used much less often, but still not so rare as not to mention them) butter. Most often it is olive: its mild, bitter taste is equally well suited to vegetables and leaves, and to everything else that you are used to putting in salads.
Sunflower, mustard, pumpkin, sesame and other types of oil are appropriate, but they leave a more “aggressive” impression on the taste of the dish – you need it or not, decide for yourself. If, on the other hand, you need a delicate oil with almost no taste, grape seed oil will do. For salads, they usually use extra virgin oil, unrefined – in a word, one that is not suitable for frying, and vice versa.
Vinegar
Vinegar in salad dressings is responsible for the acidity as well as the formation of an emulsion, so that the dressing literally envelops every leaf of your salad. Most often, wine vinegar is used – white or red, balsamic (although it will color your salad not always with a disagreeable dark color), sherry, cider (very similar to regular apple cider) and others, and the use of flavored vinegars allows you to bring the number of possible combinations closer to infinity. Of course, synthetic vinegar is completely unsuitable here.
Juice
The juice of fruits, berries and even vegetables is also appropriate in salad dressings: for example, you can replace vinegar with lemon (or lime) juice (and I confess I like this option more), juices of other citrus fruits or berries add their own piquant note. Use the rest as an unusual and exotic seasoning. The main thing is not to overdo it: it is hardly worth adding more than 1 teaspoon of juice per serving of dressing, so the juice should initially have an intense and distinct taste. If your wild fantasy tells you to add cucumber or celery juice to your dressing, ask her to listen to her reasoning.
Additional Ingredients
Mustard
Mustard is one of the traditional ingredients in salad dressing. Most often, Dijon mustard is used (that is, not our gouge-out, but less spicy European), but in some cases, grainy or even flavored is appropriate. Makes the dressing slightly thicker, adds pungency and flavor. If you want to start with the classic combination, use 1 teaspoon of mustard with 3 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. After that, you can proceed to experiments.
Honey
It is especially good in those salads where the fifth taste (umami) is found – in other words, if your salad contains jerky, roast beef or mature cheese, it will only benefit from honey. Use small amounts of honey, balance the excessive sweetness with lemon juice, and stir the dressing until smooth.
Sauces
For example – soy (by the way, it goes well with honey), a few drops of which will give your salad a distinct Asian flavor. By experimenting with other ready-made sauces (the most obvious, but not the only one, Worcestershire), you can find your “secret ingredient” that will enhance the flavor of any dressing.
Yogurt
Yogurt (plain, of course, no additives) is a great base for salad dressing. It goes well with vegetables and herbs, sets off the taste of fish, seafood and meat. The slightly sourness of yoghurt allows you to create a taste different from that of a dressing based on olive oil – however, if desired, yoghurt and butter can be mixed, and this, you see, opens up a lot of room for creativity.
Cream
Sour cream, in my opinion, is a little less suitable for salad dressings than yogurt, and is used the same way. An exception is a summer salad of fresh vegetables and herbs from the garden, where sour cream is a gorgeous dressing in itself.
Final touches
Vegetables and fruits!)
Vegetables can be a component of both the salad itself (which is understandable) and salad dressing. For example, garlic is often added to the dressing – crushed or finely chopped. In addition to (or instead of) it, you can use shallots, Yalta or ordinary red onions, chopped and added to the dressing at the stage of mixing all its components. Other variations on the theme are hot peppers, ginger, seeds and nuts, pear, pomegranate seeds, and so on. Dressings, which are based on vegetables, stand apart, say, baked eggplant or peppers, pureed in a blender.
Greens
Chopped fresh herbs will harmoniously fit into any dressing, you can be sure about it. Dill for salads with summer vegetables or fish, basil for tomatoes, cilantro for Asian-style salads, parsley, chervil and chives in general. If fresh herbs are not available, use dried herbs such as oregano.
Egg
Usually, an egg (or its yolk) is used as a starting point for creating mayonnaise and other sauces that are prepared using a similar technology (for example, Dutch). But in some cases (see classic Caesar salad), the egg itself can act as a salad dressing. Such are the things.
Специи
Spices are a necessary finishing touch to any dressing. At a minimum, your dressing should be seasoned with salt and black pepper; among other spices, give preference to those that do not turn your salad into the dominance of a single taste.
Other
If you want to add something to the gas station that is not included in the list above – feel free to add. For example, finely grated hard cheese like Parmesan cheese, finely chopped bacon, or more exotic ingredients may turn out to be exactly the brick that is missing in your construction set. And do not be afraid to experiment: one day, completely unexpectedly for myself, I discovered that in the ideal dressing for shrimp salad you should add a spoonful of heavy cream. Imagine. Add. Stir. Try. Season. And serve. a few recipes for my favorite salads with original dressings:
Salad with baked pumpkin and feta cheese
Pickled fennel salad
Thai style beef salad
Salami salad with strawberry dressing
Warm salad with duck and peaches