The World’s Best Salad Dressing

This is hands down THE BEST salad dressing in the world. As someone who’s never used a bottled salad dressing in her life, I feel pretty confident in my assessment. In fact, my friends often refer to this as the “Crack Salad Dressing” because it’s just so addictive. Although, in this case, it’s also good for you. Which is a plus. It’s basically my own simplified riff on a old Mark Peel recipe from his Campanile days. And it’s good on everything:  Salad greens, steamed vegetables, leftover chicken, fish, pasta, rice, farro, the spoon, your finger…. well, you get the picture.

I’m not giving you exact measurements because, well, you’re just going to have to eyeball it. Salad dressing is a great way for perfectionists such as myself to let go, relax and go with flow. Because here’s the thing: If you screw it up, you can always fix it.

The general rule of thumb with any vinaigrette is 2/3 olive oil to 1/3 acid (in this case, white wine vinegar & lemon juice). I tend to prefer a 50/50 ratio, but that’s because I like things tart.  Just play around with it and see what works for you.

• 1 lemon, washed & dried
• 1 medium shallot, minced
• White wine vinegar
• Olive Oil
• Sea Salt

Take an empty jar such as an old jam, mustard or pickle jar. Preferably something with a wide enough top to fit a spoon. If you don’t have an empty jar, buy a mason’s jar at the grocery store.

Place your minced shallot into your jar and cover with about 2T of white wine vinegar.  You want enough to cover the shallots. Let sit for at least 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, use a microplane to remove the zest from your lemon and add it plus the juice from said lemon to your shallots (a handheld juicer is great for this). At this point, you have your acid. Using your jar as a measuring tool, add twice as much olive oil as there is acid. Put in a pinch of sea salt, add the lid, and shake your jar until your acid and olive oil combine.

Now, taste. If it’s too oily, add a bit more white wine vinegar. If it’s too acidic, add some more olive oil. It might need a bit more salt. The choice is up to you and your taste buds. Once it’s just right, go to town spreading it on everything. The dressing will keep in your fridge indefinitely. You’ll just need to shake the jar to recombine your ingredients and you’re ready to roll.