My go to dressings, vinaigrettes and salsas

Green goddess, charred salsas and other simple ways to give your food a citrusy punch

A handful of descent dressings up your sleeve is one of the simplest ways to lift you cooking game. Often, dishes can go from good to incredible by just adding a splash more vinegar or a cheeky squeeze of lime.

A a little rule of thumb, when making vinaigrettes, the oil to vinegar ratio calls for 1 tablespoon vinegar for every 3 tablespoons olive oil.

That said, these radios do vary slightly depending on the vinegar/citrus you use/the inclusion of any other acidic or sweet ingredients in the dressing/and what the dressing itself is going to be paired with. When dressing crunchy salads to go along side a protein I often up the ante with the vinegar or citrus, I love food that has a zing to bring it to life. With most savoury recipes I’ll always adjust the seasoning at the end, not only salt but the acidity level.

Here’s a little selection of some dressings, salsas and vinaigrettes to have handy.

Cos lettuce, bacon and green goddess

A green goddess is a fantastic dressing for a crunchy salad, iceberg, cos or even a plate of raw veggies such as cucumber, radish or celery.. It’s typically made with yogurt, mayonnaise and a shed load of herbs. I like to save fat from s bacon and add it to this for extra flavour. If you prefer to leave out the bacon fat, simply replace it with olive oil.

Here the video

Bacon Fat Green Goddess

Makes around a 350g jars worth/prep time 5 mins/ easy

100ml yogurt

100ml mayonaise

40ml bacon fat

1 lemon

2 anchovies

60g mixed herbs (Tarragon, chives, parsley)

50g parmesan

Method

Heat the bacon fat and set aside.

Blend the yogurt, mayo, bacon fat with the herbs and anchovies until smooth. Season with lemon and S&P

Green Goddess jarred and ready to go.

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Preserved Lemon salsa verde

An all rounder that I’ll often serve up with a slow cooked lamb shoulder, roast chicken or vegetables or a salad in need of a little citrusy punch, say peaches and Stracciatella. It’s a great way to incorporate preserved lemon, which I always have around but feel free to swap in capers, anchovies or gherkins for a salty hit. You can of course pop this all in a blender but I quite like a salsa verde with bit of texture.

Here’s the video

Makes around 250ml/prep time 10mins/easy

Ingredients

A good handful of fresh herbs( Parsley, mint, basil)

100 ml olive oil

2 baby onions

3 tsp Dijon mustard

1 garlic clove (minced)

1 tbsp preserved lemon( chopped)

50ml red wine vinegar

S&P

Method

Wash, and finely chop the herbs

Peel and finely chop the onions.

Mix in a bowl with, lemon, mustard, garlic, vinegar and olive oil.

Taste the salsa and adjust the seasoning with additional salt, pepper, or red wine vinegar as needed.

Preserved Lemon Salsa Verde

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Pineapple and chili salsa

A regular for Taco Tuesday in tortillas with pork, guacamole and hot sauce or great with a spiced roast chook and steamed rice. If this is for tacos I’ll dice the pinapple and tomato around a cm. If it’s to go with protein it’s lovely to keep it a little chunkier.

Serves 6/prep time 10mins/easy

Ingredients

Half a small ripe pineapple

1 large tomato (diced)

1 large red chili (deseeded)

1 sml red onion (diced)

1 juicy lime

A handful of coriander (a little mint is good too)

A good few glugs of olive oil

1 tsp soy

S&P

Method

Peel and dice the pinapple, pop into a bowl. Finely dice the chili, and pop that in(if it’s offensively hot, you can leave on the side).

Add the diced tomato, red onion. Season with, S&P, soy, lime juice and olive oil.

Stir in the fresh herbs right before serving.

Pineapple salsa, great with pork tacos.

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Variations and possibilities of a charred herb salsa

Charred herb Chimichurri

Charring herbs stalks for dressings or salads is a great way to make them less fibrous, more palatable and a great way to impart a little smokey flavour into your dish.