Tangy salad dressing

Tangy salad dressing

Throughout the summer I have a green side salad with almost every meal and this is my all-time favourite dressing. The combination of cider vinegar and mustard gives it a real tang and really lifts a simple salad, transforming it into a zingy side dish.

It is adapted from a Swiss recipe; the original uses mustard powder but over the years I’ve substituted this for Dijon or grainy mustard or sometimes I’ve used a mixture of all three! At the moment my favourite combo is half Dijon and half grainy.

The below ingredients make enough dressing for one salad but it can be made in larger quantities and, if sealed, can be kept for up to a month. To ensure a tasty base always follow a 2:1 ratio with the oil/vinegar/soy sauce, so the oil is always twice the volume of the other liquid ingredients.

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • ½ tablespoon cider vinegar
  • ½ tablespoon light soy sauce (gluten free if possible)
  • ½ teaspoon of Dijon, grainy mustard or Coleman’s mustard powder
  • Black pepper

Method

  1. Add the olive oil, cider vinegar and soy sauce to a salad bowl and stir together.
  2. Add the mustard and mix together until it is combined into the oil, vinegar and soy sauce.
  3. Season. I’m watching my blood pressure so I tend to just season with pepper and leave out the salt as the soy sauce is salty enough for me, but if you’re not so concerned about that then do season with both.
  4. Taste the dressing – it should be tangy without any element being too overpowering. If it is too acidic from the vinegar add a little more soy sauce. If it is too salty from the soy sauce add a little more vinegar to balance it out. If it is too tangy from the mustard add a little more olive oil to calm it down. The tanginess is pretty subjective so experiment until you find your perfect combination!

Leave a Reply