Salad Dressing Recipes

So you are ready to make yourself a nice little salad as an effort to keep up with this year’s resolution, but what about the dressing? Most of us know what the ingredients will be in the salad, what vegetables and meats to include, but how many of us know about salad dressings and how to make one?

Here are some basic salad dressing recipes:

Basic Italian Salad Dressing
You will need:

• Olive oil – 6 tablespoons.
• White wine vinegar – 2 tablespoons.
• Parsley, fresh and chopped –1 tablespoon.
• Lemon juice, freshly squeezed – 1 tablespoon.
• Garlic cloves, crushed – 2.
• Basil, dry and crumbled – 1 teaspoon.
• Red pepper, dried and crushed – ¼ teaspoon.
• Dry oregano – a pinch.

In a bowl, add all these ingredients and whisk well. You can add salt and pepper for taste. This makes about ½ a cup of salad dressing.

Balsamic Vinaigrette
You will need:

• Balsamic vinegar – ½ cup.
• Dijon mustard or English mustard – 3 tablespoons.
• Honey – 3 tablespoons.
• Garlic cloves, crushed – 2.
• Shallots, minced – 2 small.
• Extra virgin olive oil – 1 cup.
• Salt and pepper – as per taste.

In a bowl, whisk together all the ingredients except the olive oil. Add the olive oil slowly towards the end. This makes 1 2/3 cups of dressing.

Caesar Salad Dressing
You will need:

• Garlic cloves, crushed – 4.
• Lemon juice freshly squeezed or white wine vinegar – ¼ cup.
• Salt – ¼ teaspoon.
• Ground pepper – 1/8 teaspoon.
• Worcestershire sauce – 2 tablespoons.
• Tabasco sauce – ¼ teaspoon.
• Parmesan cheese, grated – ¼ cup.
• Extra virgin olive oil – 1 cup.

In a blender add the garlic, lemon juice, salt, pepper, Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce and cheese and blend well till smooth. Gradually add the olive oil till the dressing is creamy. This makes one cup of salad dressing.

Creamy French dressing
You will need:

• Granulated sugar – ½ cup.
• Coarse salt – 1 teaspoon.
• Vegetable oil – 1 cup.
• Worcestershire sauce – 1 tablespoon.
• Onion, freshly minced – 1 teaspoon.
• Garlic, crushed – 1 clove.
• Paprika – 1 teaspoon.
• White distilled vinegar – 1/3 cup.
• Lemon juice freshly squeezed – 2 tablespoons.
• Tomato ketchup – ½ cup.

Add all the ingredients in a blender and blend well for a minute. Put the mixture in the fridge for storing. This recipe makes for 2 ¾ cups of dressing.

Honey Mustard Dressing
You will need:

• Mayonnaise – ¾ cup.
• Honey – 3 tablespoons.
• Ready mustard or Dijon mustard – 3 tablespoons.
• Lemon juice – 1 tablespoon.
• Salt and pepper – as per taste.

In a bowl, add all the ingredients and whisk till they are blended. This makes for 1 ¼ cup of salad dressing.

Thousand Island dressing – Low fat
You will need:

• Mayonnaise, low fat – 1/3 cup.
• Ketchup – 2 tablespoons.
• Lemon juice, freshly squeezed – 2 tablespoons.
• Bell pepper, minced – 2 tablespoons.
• Onion, minced – 1 tablespoon.
• Parsley, fresh and minced – 1 tablespoon.
• Sweet pickled relish or gherkins – 1 tablespoon.
• Cayenne pepper – a pinch.
• Water – ¼ cup.
• Salt and pepper – as per taste.

Add all the ingredients in a blender till they are smooth. Add water according to the consistency you desire. Refrigerate to keep good for a week. This makes 1 cup of salad dressing.