Vinaigrettes are simple, flavorful, and versatile sauces.
We use them over grilled and smoked fish, with grilled pork and chicken, and even sometimes use them on salads. In this article, we share some of our favorite recipes & techniques for these amazing sauces that can do it all.
South Pacific Mango Vinaigrette
Grilled Swordfish with Asian Fusion Spices
We’ve used this recipe several times on fish, particularly our home-smoked salmon. It is also wonderful on a winter greens salad, or with roasted beets.
Ingredients:
- 1 lbs grilled fish (swordfish, salmon, or any meaty fish).
- 4 tablespoons of Serious Foodie South Pacific Mango Sauce (click HERE to order online)
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (or similar mild vinegar)
- 1½ teaspoons fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup olive oil (or safflower oil)
Directions:
- Whisk together the Serious Foodie Sauce, vinegar, salt and pepper in a small bowl.
- While whisking, slowly add the olive oil to make an emulsion.
You can also use the Serious Foodie Peruvian Blood Orange/ Sauce, the Mediterranean Pomegranate Sauce, or the Southern Italian Fig/Orange Sauce for making a flavorful, slightly exotic vinaigrette. Click HERE to see all the Serious Foodie products.
One of our favorites is using the Italian Fig/Orange Sauce in this dressing recipe. The Fig/Orange dressing works very well in a Greek-style salad: Add the feta and olives to salad greens, then add the vinaigrette, and toss lightly. Set aside for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to blend. Serve at room temperature.
Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette
Lemons are nice – but Meyer lemons are great. If you have never experience the delight of using Meyer lemons, find a few and try substituting them in some of your lemony recipes. They are sweeter than conventional lemons, and have a much more floral aroma. Be forewarned: the commercial harvest in the US is typically from December through May. I will buy about 2 dozen, then freeze the zest, and separately freeze the juice (usually in ice cube trays to get individual 1 tablespoon quantities).
Ingredients:
- Juice from 2 Meyer lemons
- Zest from 1 Meyer lemon
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tbs apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbs minced shallot
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
DIRECTIONS
- Place the lemon juice, zest, mustard, vinegar, shallots, salt and pepper in a food processor with a steel blade (you can also do this recipe by hand – you’ll get a slightly chunky dressing). Process until smooth.
- With the food processor running, slowly pour the olive oil through the feed tube until the dressing is thick.
We recently used this vinaigrette on an arugula salad with toasted pine nuts and shaved Parmesan cheese – it went beautifully with the grilled flank steak with the Serious Foodie Seattle Espresso Rub.
Meyer Lemon Caesar Salad
Meyer Lemon Caesar Salad
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup juice from Meyer lemons
- 1 extra large egg at room temperature
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 2 large cloves garlic, minced
- 6-8 anchovy fillets (optional)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano cheese
DIRECTIONS
- Place the lemon juice, egg yolks, mustard, garlic, anchovies, salt and pepper in a food processor with a steel blade (you can also do this recipe by hand – you’ll get a slightly chunky dressing). Process until smooth.
- With the food processor running, slowly pour the olive oil through the feed tube until the dressing is thick. (Optional: add 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano cheese and process).
- Toss the lettuce with enough dressing to moisten well.
We dress our Caesar salad in a classic style, adding grated Parmesan Cheese and croutons, then tossing, right before serving. We have also added crisp pancetta, or “prosciutto” chips to bring some interesting flavor and texture to the salad.
If anyone is interested in “prosciutto” chips, they’re simple to make. Martha Stewart’s website has a great simple recipe, for example (click HERE).
