TracyFood

Recipe: Shallot-Balsamic Vinaigrette 7 March 2007 2:42 pm

Posted by Tracy in : vegan, salad, recipes, vegetarian, people, eating, cooking , trackback

So Peter’s been out of town for a few days at some crazy math and computer nerd conference in Florida, the lucky stiff, and I think maybe I’ve missed him a little. My evidence? In the time he has been gone (less than a week, and it’s still winter) I have eaten salad twice. And not tuna salad, either — leafy greens and vegetables and the like. For me, that’s pretty much ridiculous — I’m okay with eating salad but I really don’t like making it, because I snack on the ingredients as I cook and so I’m usually bored with all of them by the time the salad is “done,” at which point I’m done too and don’t want to eat it any more. Peter, on the other hand, really likes salads, including making them, so he’s gotten pretty good at it, and around here it’s usually his job. When I’m being very helpful, I make the dressing. Simple vinaigrettes like this one are awesome in their versatility: good for fancy minimalist salads of the “one green, one fruit, one nut, one cheese” formula as well as more complicated creations where you don’t want the dressing to drown out the other ingredients. This one is also pretty delicious, and it went pretty well with red leaf lettuce and Jack Bishop’s “Spicy Pan-Glazed Tofu” the other night.

What You Need (Ingredients and Equipment)

blender
1 large shallot (or 2 small to medium, if you like things really pungent), chopped
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 tablespoon sugar
salt and pepper to taste

What You Do

Combine everything in the blender until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. If the dressing seems a little thick for your liking, add water by the tablespoon, blending after each addition, until desired consistency is reached. Serve on mixed greens and veggies and stuff. Eat.

Makes about a cup of dressing, depending on the shallot. Keeps for a nice long time in the fridge.