There are many salad dressings you can make at home ... like ranch, thousand island, blue cheese, etc ... our house favorite is vinaigrette. I come by this honestly having spent my childhood in France and having eaten salads with homemade vinaigrette ever since I can remember! There are lots of variations on vinaigrette depending on what oil you use, what vinegar, mustard, herbs, etc ... While I never had tomato vinaigrette in France, I don't think they would be opposed.
The case for homemade salad dressing
Salad dressing is a staple in many households, but it is often premade in bottles or jars, or is mixed at home with a packet of seasonings and a bit of mayonnaise or sour cream. Salad dressing is easy to make from scratch and you exactly what's in it. No preservatives, no added sugars, no fake seasonings!
I've seen some tomato vinaigrette recipes suggest to chop the tomatoes small. I always think "Why don't you just put chopped tomatoes on your salad and make a simple vinaigrette besides?!"
My version of tomato vinaigrette recipe calls for grating the flesh of the tomato so that the resulting dressing is smooth. The peel won't grate so I cut the tomato in half and start grating until the peel is the only thing left. A hand-held grater is the only way to go with this. It can be a flat one like this one that was my grandmother's or a box grater will work, too.
Add chopped shallot ... ... a little oil, a bit of red wine vinegar, and Dijon mustard, season with salt and pepper ... et voilà! You are ready to dress your salad.
Tomato Vinaigrette is especially tasty on Cumin Glazed Salmon Salad. Here are some other recipes using tomatoes that you might like as well.
- Cod with Tomato Wine Sauce
- Italian Chopped Salad
- Crostini with Pomodori al Forno
- Caprese Bites on Picks
Recipe
Tomato Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh tomato grated
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 Tablespoon shallot minced
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine all ingredients. Stir will, then dress your salad.
- Change up the flavors by adding various chopped herbs such as basil, tarragon, dill, thyme, oregano ... YUM!
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