Why buy salad dressing when you can have a jar on hand of this from-scratch-versatile-dressing in the fridge? It’s ready to shake and toss with cabbage, apple and carrot for a quick slaw, drizzle over steamed asparagus, spoon over potatoes and fixings for a bbq or picnic supper.
On a cutting board, chop the garlic coarsely. With a fork, mash the garlic with the salt until they form a paste. Scrape into a dressing shaker or 2 cup canning jar.
Add the Dijon mustard, grainy mustard, fresh ground pepper and vinegar. Put the lid on the jar and shake the jar vigorously until the Dijon and grainy mustards are blended with the vinegar.
Pour in the oil; shake again until the mustard forms an emulsion and the dressing is smooth. Take a taste, better still, dip a little lettuce in to see how well they go together. Adjust the seasoning if desired.
Use right away or refrigerate for up to 1 week. Shake the dressing vigorously before each use.
When dressing a salad, the most important thing to remember is that the salad dressing is to dress, not submerge the salad fixings. Add just enough to coat the salad, toss, adding more if you need more to coat the ingredients and highlight their tastes. Set the jar of dressing on a saucer in the fridge. Let the dressing come to room temperature before dressing a salad. Always dress salads just before serving.
GO GREEK: Add 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup Feta crumbs to the finished dressing.
GO BLUE: ditto for an addition of mild blue cheese.
GO RED: replace the white wine vinegar with red wine vinegar. Add a pinch of sugar if desired.
NO GO FOR GARLIC: replace the garlic with milder roasted garlic, or 1 tablespoon finely sliced green onion or minced shallot, or leave the garlic out. No need to mash the salt with roasted garlic or the green onion and shallot options.
GO HERBAL: Add 1 tablespoon minced fresh herbs such as thyme, basil or oregano to the finished dressing. For dried herbs, reduce the amount to 1 teaspoon.