Making homemade vinaigrette is easy as long as you master the basics to combine with this little chef’s tip.
To season a salad or enhance a dish like steamed fish, what’s better than a good vinaigrette? While the recipe may seem simple, sometimes the emulsion doesn’t set perfectly because the ingredients (salt, pepper, oil and vinegar) don’t mix well. To make a perfect vinaigrette and make it hold, the chefs on the show La Table des Bons Vivants on Europe 1, presented by Laurent Mariotte, give you a foolproof technique.
A perfectly balanced vinaigrette should contain 1/4 acid and 3/4 fat. It is a matter of following each step of the recipe scrupulously, adding the ingredients in the right proportions. First step, in a salad bowl, mix a pinch of salt with a tablespoon of vinegar (wine, sherry or balsamic according to your desire). After that, simply add 3 tablespoons of oil to the emulsion by mixing with a spoon, a fork or a whisk. Finally, you can add black pepper to the mixture.
Don’t wait for the oil to rise to the surface with this technique presented by Laurent Mariotte: it simply involves adding boiling water to the emulsion to bind the oil to the vinegar. At the end of the emulsion preparation, the chef adds 50 centilitres of boiling water to the vinaigrette, which fixes the fat. With this technique, the vinaigrette no longer moves as if by magic.
Once you’ve mastered these basics, you can experiment with combinations. For example, you can play with the consistency of the vinaigrette by adding mustard for a thicker sauce, or yogurt for a smoother sauce. Flavors can evolve by combining the vinaigrette with shallots, garlic, onions, curry, cumin, or chopped hazelnuts.
It should be noted that the oil can be neutral like grape seed or rapeseed, mainly suitable for “character” salads like rocket. On the other hand, we will opt for an oil “with character” like hazelnut or olive oil for a milder salad like lettuce. Argan oil is ideal with fish. As for walnut or hazelnut oils, they enhance grilled vegetables. Finally, Laurent Mariotte’s last tip is to replace the oil with roast chicken juice!