Homemade Italian Vinegarette

This is my favorite homemade salad dressing.  I make this in a big batch usually on the weekend so it lasts me long enough to have salads all week.  You will probably want to add extra oil to yours though as I like mine more tangy than a normal person should.








Homemade Italian Vinegarette

1 c. red wine vinegar
3 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp. dijon mustard
1 1/2 tbsp. honey
2 tsp. dried basil (or fresh if you have it)
1 c. canola oil
Pinch of salt & pepper

Combine all ingredients except oil and whisk until combined.  Slowly add in the oil and whisk while incorporating it.  Give it a taste and add more oil as needed.  Store in an air tight container for 1-2 weeks. 

Japanese Ginger Dressing

I absolutely LOVE this dressing.  I'm not big on making salads because I hate store bought dressings and I get tired and bored with simple vinaigrette that I make at home.  Recently while staying a few nights in Tokyo we ate at a Japanese restaurant and they had this amazing ginger dressing.  Reminded me of the ginger dressing you get at the Japanese steakhouses back in the states that I use to visit quite often.  So I started searching the internet for a recipe so I could make this at home.  I definitely will be eating more salad now that I found this recipe.  This recipe makes enough for about 3 large salads with more dressing than necessary on them.  If you go light on your dressing it'll go further.  I also ate a salmon salad with one of them and this was absolutely amazing on top of my salmon as well.   This recipe was adapted from All Recipes.  I made only a few slight modifications to it such as using tomato paste instead of ketchup, as I hate ketchup in recipes and I omitted the water and added a bit less oil.  

Japanese Ginger Dressing 

1/2 cup minced onion
1/3 cup peanut oil
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger root
2 tablespoons minced celery
2 tablespoons tomato paste
4 teaspoons soy sauce
3 teaspoons white sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

In a blender, combine the minced onion, peanut oil, rice vinegar, water, ginger, celery, tomato paste, soy sauce, sugar, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper. Blend on high speed for about 30 seconds or until all of the ingredients are well-pureed.  This tastes good freshly pureed but even better after sitting in the fridge an hour or two.