Red Wine Vinaigrette

I’ve been experimenting in the kitchen. Decided as part of my lowered-carbs diet (mandated by The Good Doctor), I should eat more salad greens. Well, Ranch dressing is pretty bad for you (even though it tastes awesome), and I like “Italian” dressing, so I figure why not learn how to make my own vinaigrette without all the corn starch, corn syrup, preservatives, and nonsense mixed into the prepackaged bottles?

This recipe makes just over 8 ounces.

• 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (or your favorite oil)
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar (or your favorite vinegar)
• 1 tsp dijon or yellow mustard (as emulsifier)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp (1 clove) minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp minced white onion
• 1/2 tsp minced red bell pepper (green is OK too)
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
• 1 dash of lemon juice (optional)

Combine everything together into whatever container you can seal. I have an empty 8oz store-bought dressing bottle. Seal the bottle and shake for a few minutes and serve immediately. Some people prefer to use a blender for a finer, longer-lasting mix; as long as there’s enough emulsifier, it’ll stay mixed long enough to eat. Feel free to play with the oil:vinegar ratio (some people use 2:1 for a stronger vinegar flavor – my first bottle was this, so I’ll dial it back next round) and play around with whatever seasonings you like. My seasoning selection was educated by the ingredients lists on several store-bought brands (also, I’ve recently become a fan of crushed red pepper). As long as you stick with the base recipe of oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and an emulsifier, you are free to season as you’re pleasin’. You can find out more behind the science of vinaigrette at The Food Lab (thanks to Andrew K. for the link).