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Easy dressings

Dressings turn a salad into something special. Try any of these six delicious recipes.

Recipes below for:

Sweet chilli Thai style dressing
Balsamic dressing
Japanese dressing
Citrus and herb vinaigrette
Herb mayonnaise
Yoghurt, feta, and herb dressing.

 

Make earlier and refridgerate to allow flavours to develop. They can also be used as marinades to baste meat or vegetables before barbequing. 

 

Sweet chilli Thai style dressing
Makes approx. ½ cup

1 tsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
¼ cup sweet chilli sauce
3 Tbsp lime juice
¼ tsp minced ginger


Put all ingredients into a screw top jar and shake well to mix. Season to taste.


Tips & uses:

  1. Replace lime juice with lemon
  2. Make an Asian style coleslaw with shredded cabbage – red and green, chopped celery, spring onions, grated carrot and toss through the dressing.
  3. Use as a marinade for chicken or pork. Marinate for 1-2 hours or overnight if wished. BBQ the meat, basting with the marinade during cooking
  4. This dressing makes a great dipping sauce for dumplings or spring rolls. If using as a dipping sauce leave out the vegetable oil

 

Balsamic Dressing
Makes approx. ¾ cup

½ cup extra virgin olive oil
6 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 small cloves garlic, crushed

Put all ingredients into a screw top jar and shake well to mix. Season to taste.

Tips & uses:

  1. If raw garlic doesn’t agree with you try roasting before crushing. Wrap peeled cloves in a little foil and place on a tray – roast for 15-20 minutes, until garlic is soft to the touch. Roasted garlic tends to be sweeter as the sugars caramelize during cooking.
  2. Make a rocket, pear and parmesan salad – toss dressing through just before serving

 

Japanese Dressing
Makes approx. ½ cup

2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp mirin
1 tsp sesame oil
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp orange or lemon juice

Put all ingredients into a screw top jar and shake well to mix. 

Tips & uses: 

  1. Toss the dressing through a vermicelli rice noodle salad – to cooked vermicelli add, julienne carrots, thinly sliced snow peas and cucumber, spring onions, mint and coriander leaves. Garnish with roasted peanuts
  2. This dressing makes a great marinade for salmon. Marinade for 20-30 minutes, then bake or BBQ. Serve with the vermicelli rice noodle salad

 

Citrus and Herb Vinaigrette
Makes approx. ¾ cup

½ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup lemon juice
½ tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp liquid honey
2 Tbsp chopped parsley

Put all ingredients into a screw top jar and shake well to mix. Season to taste.

Tips & uses:

  1. Replace the honey with brown sugar if wished
  2. Add your favourite chopped soft herbs – such as chives, mint, basil – note that basil and mint will discolour quite quickly so add just before using.
  3. Make a warm potato salad. Boil gourmet new potatoes. Drain. While still warm toss through the dressing. Serve at room temperature.

 

Herb Mayonnaise
Makes approx. 2/3 cup

½ cup mayonnaise
Handful fresh, flat-leaf parsley or basil leaves, chopped
2 Tbsp chopped chives
Squeeze lemon juice

Put all the ingredients in a small bowl and stir to mix. Season to taste.

Tips & uses:

  1. Mix through a coleslaw 
  2. Make fresh crudites – celery, carrot, cucumber, capsicum and use herb mayonnaise as a dipping sauce

 

Yoghurt, Feta and Herb Dressing
Makes approx. ¾ cup

½ cup natural unsweetened Greek yoghurt
100g feta, mashed or finely crumbled
Handful fresh mint or basil leaves, chopped
Squeeze of lemon juice


Put all the ingredients in a small bowl and stir to mix. Thin with a little water to reach desired consistency. Season to taste.

 

Tips & uses:

  1. Use as a dressing on roasted vegetables.
  2. Make an apple, celery and walnut salad and mix through dressing.