Thanks to Mark’s Daily Apple for pointing out that we are, in fact, in the midst of National Salad Week.  In honor of the occasion, I’m following up on a promise I made to reader Mel about coming up with a salad dressing that involved butter.  I’m also going to give you my take on ten simple salad dressings (check out Mark’s list too!).

It’s really the perfect time of year to eat salad.  It’s hot.  The produce is fresh.  Salad just tastes better in summer too.  First, some salad making tips:

Use fresh ingredients.  And by fresh, I mean picked within a day or two.  Have you gotten used to that loose salad mix piled up invitingly in Whole Foods for $8/pound?  Buy a head of lettuce at a farmers’ market from a farmer who picked it this morning, and try some leaves of each side by side for comparison.  Fresh picked lettuce has a more complex flavor and a crisper texture.  Fresh herbs also make a salad amazing.

Don’t limit yourself to green salad.  I love a simple green salad with maybe one or two other elements, but pretty much anything can be made into a salad.  Think: black-eyed pea salad.  Tomato salad.  Fennel salad.  Beet salad.  Sorrel-salmon salad.  Egg salad.  Chicken-plum salad.  Chick pea-purslane salad.  Black bean avocado salad.  Simple carrot salad.  Old newspaper salad.  (Okay, maybe not anything.)

Keep it simple.  Base your salad on one or two fresh ingredients, and only add other elements, if any, that highlight those base ingredient(s).  Every once in a while make an everything-in-the-fridge salad for variety, but simplicity makes salad, like most things, shine.  The dressing, too, should be very simple, as you’ll see in the recipes below.

Toss your salad before you serve it.  The salad should have an even, light coating of dressing.  If you’ve made too much dressing, simply store excess in the fridge before tossing the salad.

Make your own dressing. Store-bought dressing is full of bad oils, preservatives, high fructose corn syrup, flavoring agents, shortcuts, and other unspeakable things.  Store bought dressing is also expensive, compared to making your own.  If you currently rely on store-bought dressings for your salads, making your own dressing is one of the easiest healthy changes you can make to your eating habits.

Ten Simple Salad Dressings

First, before I give you general recipes for these dressings, you should know that I encourage you to make salad dressing without a recipe.  Think of a recipe as a guideline, a starting place, or an idea about what tastes good with what.  The proportions or anything you’d like to add are up to you.  Don’t measure, just mix and taste.

The basic concept salad dressings are made up of an oil, an acid, and an emulsifier with any additional flavors or herbs you like.  Mix the oil and the emulsifier until thick, add the acid, add any flavors, and you have dressing.

Start with a ratio of about 2:1 of oil to acid, and adjust according to your tastes.  All the recipes below follow that guideline, which is why they do not give measurements.

1. Simple vinaigrette.

This is the simple, classic dressing I make most often.

Olive oil

Apple cider vinegar or balsamic vinegar or walnut vinegar

Dijon mustard

Black pepper

Add a few spoonfuls of oil to your salad bowl.  Stir in a generous spoonful of mustard, beating vigorously until it emulsifies, with thickening strands of mustardy oil forming in the bowl.  Add in vinegar to taste and stir.  Grate in black pepper.

2. Buttery lemon-herb

This one’s for Mel, who wanted a dressing that used butter.  I didn’t think I could come up with a buttery salad dressing, since butter is a solid at room temperature, but it occurred to me: so is mustard.  What if I used the butter in place of the emulsifying mustard?  It worked.

Walnut or hazelnut oil

Butter

Lemon juice

Fresh basil

Black pepper

Fresh garlic (optional)

Soften your butter to room temperature (do not melt it).  Tear or chop your basil leaves into small pieces, or use the tiny-leafed variety of basil.  Sprinkle basil onto butter in a bowl and with the back of a spoon, mash your softened butter until it is very soft and smooth, and the basil is fully incorporated.  Pour in your nut oil, a few spoonfuls, and beat it with the spoon until it is completely incorporated and smooth.  Add in lemon juice to taste, some black pepper, and some very finely pressed or chopped garlic if you like.  Mix well and serve.

3. Shallot-herb vinaigrette

Follow directions for #1 (simple vinaigrette) above.  At the end, add finely chopped shallots and one or two fresh herbs (not dried!), torn or chopped fine.  Let the dressing sit for at least twenty minutes if possible, so the herbs can flavor the dressing and the shallots can marinate.  It also works well with spring onions or scallions.  Note: shallot-herb works better with a stronger vinegar, like balsamic or fig.

4. Apricot-raspberry vinaigrette

Follow directions for #1 (simple vinaigrette) above.  Reduce the vinegar, and add in a few tablespoons mashed, ripe raspberries and a whole, medium-sized apricot, mashed or puréed.  This works better with a milder vinegar, like apple cider vinegar or a vinegar made directly from fruit (raspberry, peach, blueberry... check to make sure it’s not super sweetened though).

Try it with other fruits as well, like peaches, plums, pears or cherries.

5. Lemon-tahini

This creamy dressing is especially nice on a hot day.

Tahini

Olive oil

Lemon

Garlic (optional)

Black pepper

Herb: lemon verbena or lemon thyme

Beat together a few spoonfuls of oil and tahini until smooth.  Add lemon juice, a small amount of crushed garlic, pepper, and torn herbs.  Mix well.  Great for lettuce or non-lettuce salads, or as a dip.

6. Lemon-mustard

Follow directions for #1 (simple vinaigrette) above, but use lemon juice instead of vinegar and use extra mustard.  I like this on a shredded carrot or beat salad, or with fresh fennel.  It’s a brighter flavor than a dressing made with vinegar.

7. Yogurt-dill

This dressing is a nice shift from the standard oil-and-acid fare.

Yogurt or kefir

Lemon juice

Finely chopped or grated sweet onion (a few small spoonfuls)

Finely chopped or grated cucumber (a few small spoonfuls)

Dash of cumin

Chop or grate the onion and cucumber.  Mix them with the yogurt and allow it to sit in the fridge for an hour, if you have the time.  Take out of fridge and add the lemon juice and cumin.

8. Cilantro-lime

Cilantro and lime pair beautifully.

Olive oil

Juice of 1-2 limes

Pinch of cayenne or chipotle

Mix all ingredients.  Allow it to sit for flavors to combine.

9. Tamarind-mint-lime

While we’re on a lime kick, try this one.

A small spoonful tamarind paste

Juice of one lime

A small handful of mint leaves, shredded or torn

A small spoonful of honey

Walnut or almond oil

Optional: a tiny bit of fresh-grated ginger

Combine all ingredients.  Make sure tamarind is fully incorporated. 

10. Creamy parmesan

Okay, this is for those of you who need a creamy dressing.  Maybe it should involve.... cream!  Actually, this one is best made with crème fraîche, if you can get your hands on some, or a combination of cream and sour cream if you can’t.

Olive oil

Parmesan cheese (or pecorino or romano)

Crème fraîche or a combination of sour cream and heavy cream

Apple cider vinegar (small amount)

Egg yolk

Mustard (small spoonful)

Smoked paprika (tiny dash) or dash of nutmeg (not both)

Fresh basil, torn or chopped small

As though you were making mayonnaise, beat the egg yolk, vinegar, smoked paprika and mustard together in a bowl.  While beating, slowly pour in the oil until it becomes thick and emulsified.  Stir in the crème fraîche or the sour cream and heavy cream (pre-combine them if using that combination, which will help prevent curdling).  Grate the parmesan and fold it in last.

Thanks to lacollinafiorita for the CC photo of parmesan and adamjtaylor for the photo of the limes.

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