Vinaigrette

Culinary definition of vinaigrette:  A basic dressing or sauce made from oil plus vinegar or lemon juice.

C@H FOOD FOR THOUGHT
A traditional vinaigrette made from really good quality extra virgin olive oil, wine or Champagne vinegar, Dijon mustard, anchovy and salt and pepper (right), is hard to beat as a go-to dressing or marinade, so it's worth learning how to prepare it in bulk to keep at hand.  Vinaigrettes recipes vary widely, but most start with one part vinegar or lemon juice and three parts olive or other good quality oil.  Our favourite recipe:

• ½ cup red or white wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoon Dijon mustard  (we prefer whole grain)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground  pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1½ cups quality olive oil like Domenica Fiore
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh, or 1 teaspoon dried herbs
• 2 anchovy fillets, oil shaken off but not removed entirely

Combine all ingredients except garlic or shallot in a blender (or whisk briskly by hand). Adjust seasoning and vinegar if needed at this point, then pulse in the garlic or shallot (or whisk).  Add very finely snipped baby chives when in season.  This recipe makes two cups.  Store in a beautiful jar in the fridge.  For ethnic variations see recipes for Asian Vinaigrette, Curried Vinaigrette, Grill Vinaigrette, Italian Vinaigrette, Moroccan Vinaigrette, Mexican Vinaigrette and Thai Vinaigrette.

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