Olive Oil Dressing?!
Vinagrette?
Dijon?
Any recipe that you have TRIED. I know how to search the net, but I am looking for tried and true favorites that you have actually made yourself. I could get one from a website if that what I wanted.
What are your faves?
I wanna try one on my spinach salad at lunch.
Answers: Looking for some good olive oil recipes to go with my new "diet". I love salad and I am finding it hard to steer away from the creamy ranch dressing I love so much.
Vinagrette?
Dijon?
Any recipe that you have TRIED. I know how to search the net, but I am looking for tried and true favorites that you have actually made yourself. I could get one from a website if that what I wanted.
What are your faves?
I wanna try one on my spinach salad at lunch.
I am on a diet as well and I have found that if you mix about 1 tblsp of basalmic vinegar and 1 tsp olive oil and mix it together it tastes wonderfull .
Flavoring Olive Oils
Our friend Tony Pennisi at Big Paw Grub makes some excellent infused oils using dried wild herbs. He says that the intensity of the flavor varies with the season, whether the herbs are wild or domestic, how the local growing conditions have been, etc. etc. It takes a lot of trial and error. Its more art than science and the people who are good at it are reluctant to share their trade secrets. The oil will pick up the flavor fairly quickly, in the first few weeks, and then slowly intensify. Its OK to leave the herbs in for a long time, eventually all the flavor leaves the herbs and the oil flavor stabilizes. Most oil sellers keep it simple and use one herb at a time. I have seen smoke flavoring added to an herb or peppers added to any one of the herbs. When mixing herbs, think salad dressing. Look at some recipes for dressing and substitute the dried herbs for any fresh herbs called for in the recipe. A dipping blend is like an Italian dressing with much more oil than vinegar.
Flavored olive oils and dressings make great gifts but watch out; there are safe and unsafe ways to make flavored olive oil. The unsafe way is to put anything in the oil that contains water. That would include garlic, lemon peel, fresh peppers, fresh herbs and spices. The oil will not support bacterial growth but the water containing herbs will. Botulism bacteria can grow in this type of environment. There are several ways to get around this
1. Mix all the ingredients, refrigerate them and use them within a week
This is the best way if you are using fresh ingredients such as fresh basil, fresh rosemary or garlic.
Garlic: ideal for adding to pasta dishes, then top with a little grated dry cheese. Fill a decorative 1-litre bottle with extra virgin olive oil. Add a clean head of garlic (whole if desired), and leave to marinade for a few days.
2. Preserve the added ingredients:
Maybe you have seen garlic or herbs mixed with oil. The way it is done commercially is to first preserve the water-containing garlic, herb, etc. with a strong brine or vinegar solution, then put it in the oil. The vinegar solutions used commercially are up to 4 times stronger than the vinegars you find in the supermarket. You can find them at commercial food supply outlets. Many of the herb mixes have both salt and vinegar which both prevent bacterial growth. You could use one of the olive pickling solutions listed above. Commercial vinaigrettes and sauces also have chemical preservatives not usually available to the home cook.
3. Dry the herbs to remove all water, leaving the essential oils:
This can be done with a food dehydrator or just by leaving in the sun. Then add the spices and herbs. Whole sprigs of thyme, rosemary, dried peppers, etc. can decorate the inside of the bottle this way.
4. Press the olives with the spices
Putting lemon, garlic, etc. in the olive press with the olives is the safest way to flavor oil. You must have your own olive press (See First Press), or take it to a commercial press. The oils from the added ingredients mingle with the olive oil and the watery part of the spices are removed along with the olive water. You could add essential spice oils to the olive oil to achieve the same effect.
I like red wine vinegrette.
red wine vinegar
grated clove of garlic
salt & pepper
dash of dry mustard
stream in EVOO and whisk - its pretty good and tasty -
In August we changed our lifestyle and got off red meat - (Fish, chicken, rice and tons of salad and all the fruits and vegetables I could ever imagine. I have tried a variety of different dressings and I like the red wine vinegar, it gives it a bite - sorry I don't have quantities of how much to put in, most everything I do, I don't measure - its more a method than a recipe! Good luck to you on your lifestyle change!
(also, not that you asked, but fat free cottage cheese isn't bad either - sometimes when I want "something else" I can add almost anything to the cottage cheese and its pretty satisfying - pineapple, peaches, olives, mandarin oranges, tangerines, salt & pepper, etc)
i always use a basic olive oil, and lemon juice dressing, 1 part extra virgin olive oil, to 2 parts lemon juice, add salt and ground black pepper, whisk with a fork, and pour over your salad. you can flavour this basic dressing, but its so nice just by itself.
i have a great low fat ranch i make try it sometime
Makes about 1 cup.
Ingredients3/4 cup well-shaken low-fat (1 1/2%) buttermilk
2 tablespoons low-fat or soy mayo (its even lower in fat!)mayonnaise
2 tablespoons nonfat sour cream
1 tablespoon packed fresh basil leaves, minced
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon sugar or splenda (this is a great product!)
in a blender or food processor blend all ingredients and salt and pepper to taste until smooth. Dressing keeps, covered and chilled, 1 week.
take some olive oil put it in a food prosessor and add dried parsley and mashed garlic and maybe some red wine vinger