Lemon-Shallot Vinaigrette

January 7, 2009

This is the salad dressing I used on my Christmas Feast salad consisting of arugula, fennel, and Parmesan. It is similar to my basic vinaigrette recipe, but has a bolder flavor. It’s also versatile enough to be used on almost any salad. Most of the amounts can be eye-balled and adjusted to taste. Don’t worry too much about being exact.

For the recipe you’ll need 3/4 cup of extra-virgin olive oil, 3 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice (I used slightly more), a shallot, 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard, 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme (or 1 1/2 fresh), a clove of garlic, and salt and pepper to taste.

I first minced the shallot and clove of garlic, then combined everything but the oil in a bowl. The recipe suggests combining everything (including the oil) in a jar and shaking, and this would definitely be effective. I, however, didn’t have a jar next to me so I used the traditional vinaigrette method of slowly whisking in the oil to emulsify it.

Tips

The vinaigrette tasted great. I like the use of fresh lemon juice over a vinegar.
The recipe says a 1/3 cup of grated Parmesan is optional. I left it out since it was already on my salad.
Don’t worry too much about measurements. Just get close to a 3:1 ratio of oil to lemon juice.

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
3-4 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 shallot, minced
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. dried thyme (1 1/2 tsp. fresh)
1 garlic clove, minced
Salt and pepper to taste

Recipe:

Combine everything but the oil in a small boil. Slowly pour in the oil, whisking constantly until emulsified. Alternatively, combine everything in a mason jar and shake.

This recipe was adapted from the America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook.

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