Vinaigrettes and Mayonnaise and Oriental Dipping Sauce

Vinaigrette: (screw-top jar)
I usually use about
6 measures of oil (small cup, tablespoon, eggcup)  to one or two measures (same) of cider vinegar (or vinegar of choice)
Plus approx. a teaspoon of Dijon mustard - you can use mustard powder, but ready-made is better,
1 tsp. of sugar or some Maple Syrup
Salt and black pepper and a large squashed clove of garlic.
Shake the jar well (remembering to screw the lid on tightly!)
This will store in your fridge for ages.  You can use this as a basic vinaigrette and add other stuff to ring the changes.
You dont need to remove the garlic.

Sweet Vinaigrette: (screw-top jar)
1 cup of salad oil
1/3 cup of vinegar
1 tsp. salt
2 tablespoons (or more) sugar
1.1/2 tsps. dry mustard
a little ground black pepper
Mix and shake together well.
This is very good with finely shredded red cabbage.

Mayonnaise: (Liquidiser)
To make a light mayonnaise I use
1 egg (+ 1 extra yolk if wanted)
Salt, ground white pepper, clove of crushed garlic (optional)
Approx. a tablespoon of lemon juice or a good vinegar.
Blitz briefly.
Pouring a little oil at a time, (pouring through the lid of the liquidiser), blitz gently until you have the consistency you want.
I use either Sunflower Oil/Olive oil or a combination.
Taste and adjust seasoning - can also add a little Dijon mustard.

Basic Oriental Dipping Sauce: (screwtop jar*)
3 (cups/measures) rice vinegar
2           "                sugar
1           "                Soy Sauce
crushed garlic(optional)
Shake together.
*Beforehand, I sometimes pour boiling water into the jar and lid just to sterilise it.

Salad Cream Recipe

Leeks with Tomato Vinaigrette - very easy

Leeks:
6-8 leeks (small/medium)

Wash the leeks well, cut in half if large.
Cook them in boiling water for approx. 10 mins - make sure they are nice and soft, otherwise they can be a bit chewy. 
Refresh under cold water, drain, then place them on paper kitchen roll to absorb the excess water.
Using a sharp knife, slice them lengthways and place in a dish.

Tomato Vinaigrette:

2 tablespoons of fresh tomato pulp (skin a large, fresh tomato, then liquidise)
or 1 tblspn. tomato puree diluted with 1 tablespoon of water
2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar or cider vinegar+tablespoon of honey
4-5 tablespoons of oil
salt, pepper to taste

Liquidise all these ingredients together so you have a nice smooth sauce.
Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary ..... do be careful when tasting, in case you have too much vinegar!

Carefully spoon the vinaigrette over the leeks, while still warm.
Chill.


These leeks can also be served hot - very nice.
and are lovely served with cold meat, chicken or fish, and also as part of a buffet table.

Beetroot and Orange Salad (Ottolenghi's - slightly adapted)

Ingredients: - serves 2 - 4
Salad:
4 cooked beetroots (remove hard ends) and cut into nice chunks
2 small oranges - peeled, de-pipped and roughly chopped
1/2 red onion - peeled, 1/4'd and finely sliced
Small amount of Feta
chopped corrander - for sprinkling over before serving

Dressing:
1 tablespoon of preferably fresh Orange Juice - use remaining juice from above oranges plus some extra
1 tablespoon of Honeygar - (cider vinegar and honey ready-mixed)
3 tablespoons Sunflower Oil
Salt and Black Pepper

Method:
Place the veggies in a bowl,
add the crumbled Feta,
shake and mix the dressing ingredients together in a (lidded!) jar and pour over the top.

Deelicious.

Simple Beetroot Salad

Ingredients:
4 cooked beetroots (approx.)

Dressing Ingredients:
1/4 cup of cider vinegar
1 tsp.(or more)  of honey (or maple syrup)
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. of grated lemon rind
1 small onion - finely chopped - however, you could leave this out.
3/4 cup of a good fruity olive oil
salt & little pepper to taste

Mix dressing ingredients together in a screw-top jar  - shake well.
Pour over quartered (chunks) beets - toss gently so beetroot is well covered with the dressing.
This keeps very well in the fridge. 
Is delicious  ......... that's it!

Broad Bean Salad - really simple

Ingredients: enough for 2 good portions

Salad:
about 1/2 lb. broad beans - shelled
couple of handfuls of young spinach leaves (washed and stalks trimmed)
1/2 dz. chestnut mushrooms - wiped clean and sliced
A handful of chopped fresh corriander or flat leaf parsley
parmesan shavings - optional

Dressing: Vinaigrette:
I usually use a ratio of 4 (olive) oil to 1 (cider or wine) vinegar .........
(you could also use fresh lemon juice instead of vinegar)
Plus: mustard or mustard powder - to taste
Salt/pepper/ crushed garlic
Little sugar
Plus any favourite vinaigrette ingredient.
Place all ingredients into a screw-top jar - shake well & taste before using.
(A little flaxseed oil also gives a nice nutty flavour.)

1. Throw beans into a large pan of boiling water.
2. Bring back to the boil and cook for 1-2 mins until just tender.
3. Drain and refresh in cold water and gently squeeze off the outer coating of the beans so you get the lovely bright green bean halves.
4. Mix all the salad ingredients together with the dressing drizzled over.

Add the parmesan if wanted.

You could also add some crushed, crispy bacon bits - (if you're not a veggie.)

......... You cant beat seasonal and simple.

Medicinal Uses of Basil & Tomato & Mozzarella Salad

This herb is very easily available everywhere -
it tastes good and apparently has medicinal properties.

Try the lovely classic Tomato and Basil salad:

Ingredients:
Fresh basil leaves - (the smell is gorgeous)
A little dried Basil and Oregano
several 'good' tasting tomatoes - sliced
Mozzarella (sliced) or crumbled Roqfort are also good with this salad.
Little chopped spring onion (scallion) if wanted & little crushed garlic, but not necessary.
Sprinkle of Sugar
Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar (if you can get the Balsamic Vinegar in Syrup form - this is delicious)

Place your sliced tomatoes (on a pretty plate)
If using Mozzarella, alternate the tomato slices with the cheese slices
Sprinkle the dried basil and oregano over, olive oil, balsamic, and sugar
Season with salt and black pepper
(Add your crumbled cheese if using Roqfort or other blue cheese - dont add too much salt when seasoning the salad, as blue cheese can be salty. You can use the blue cheese instead of the mozzarella - or both!)

Either make a vinaigrette or drizzle some olive oil over - can also add a few drops of Balsamic.

Vinaigrette in a jar, screw on lid, shake well and pour over salad:
4 tbls. olive oil
1 tbls. (I use cider vinegar) - vinegar of choice or lemon juice
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
Salt and Pepper
You could also add a little sugar to your Vinaigrette if you like it sweet.


Little Tip: If you have a bought basil plant from the Supermarket - you can keep it for ages by putting the pot in a small bowl and topping up with water regularly - they are very thirsty plants so you will probably need to replace the water every few days - but the plant will keep for ages.

Vinaigrette for Red Cabbage Salad

1 cup of salad oil (mix of sunflower and olive oil is good)
1/3 cup of cider vinegar
1 - 1/2 tsps. salt
2 (or more) tablespoons of sugar
1.1/2 tsps of dry mustard powder
1/2 - 1 tsp paprika
a little black pepper

Place all ingredients in a jamjar - (with lid!) - and shake till well blended togther.
Pour over your finely shredded red cabbage - toss well - leave for a while to 'soak in'.
This salad keeps really well for a few days, covered, in the fridge.

addition: a peeled tart apple, finely chopped/sliced.

On 'Vinaigrette' - the most useful sauce .......

Vinaigrette is rather like roast potatoes or chicken soup - everyone uses the same basic ingredients, and everyone's vinaigrette still tastes unique! The only ready-made one I might buy is the Carrefour Vinaigrette Nature - which I can only get in Fracne unfortunately. -

I usually make up a quantity which I keep in a screw-top jar in the fridge, and sometimes just add to it as it decreases. 

1. For basic Vinaigrette I use :  
1 part cider vinegar or wine vinegar or Honeygar (which is slightly sweet) - to
4 to 6 parts of olive oil - (I like my vinaigrette more oily than sharp) 
- you have to taste it as you go. 
1 tsp to 1 tablespoon - (to your own taste) - of grainy or plain Maille Dijon mustard
S&P, 
clove of crushed garlic and 
a little sugar - lid on jar and shake well. Keeps really well for ages in the fridge.

There are so many additions too - dried herbs, fresh herbs, lemon juice instead of vinegar is also really nice .... different oils, etc. I sometimes add some Flaxseed Oil along with the Olive or Sunflower Oil, as I like the nutty flavour.

Elizabeth David suggested having ready 2 soft-boiled eggs, scoop out the yolks and add them to the sauce - (this sounds rather nice, though haven't tried it) - this sauce should be made an hour or so before it's eaten. This versatile sauce can be used with fish, vegetables, chicken, salad .......

2. Fruity Vinaigrette (c/o Ottolenghi)
1 tablespoon of preferably fresh Orange Juice - use remaining juice from above oranges plus some extra
1 tablespoon of Honeygar - (cider vinegar and honey ready-mixed)
3 tablespoons Sunflower Oil
Salt and Black Pepper