Making a homemade vinaigrette is easy as long as you master the basics to combine with a tip to always keep in mind.
To season a salad or spice up a dish like steamed fish, what’s better than a good vinaigrette? Although the recipe seems simple, sometimes the emulsion does not set perfectly because the ingredients (salt, pepper, oil and vinegar) are difficult to mix. To make a perfect vinaigrette and make it hold, the chefs of the TV show The Table of Bons Vivants on Europe 1, presented by Laurent Mariotte, provide you with an infallible technique.
A perfectly balanced vinaigrette should contain 1/4 acid and 3/4 fat. It involves scrupulously following each step of the recipe, 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, mixing with a spoon, fork or 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 preparing the emulsion, the chef adds 50 centiliters of boiling water to the vinaigrette, which helps to fix the fat. With this technique, the vinaigrette no longer magically moves.
Once you have mastered these basics, you can experiment with combinations. For example, you can play with the consistency of the dressing by adding mustard for a thicker sauce, or yogurt for a smoother sauce. Flavors can evolve by combining the vinaigrette with shallot, garlic, onion, curry, cumin or chopped hazelnuts.
It should be noted that the oil can be neutral like that of grape seed or rapeseed, mainly suitable for “character” salads like arugula. Conversely, we will opt for a “character” oil like hazelnut or olive oil for a milder salad like lettuce. Argan oil is an ideal accompaniment to 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!