Reducipe – The Ultimate Vinaigrette

Reducipe
Pronunciation: ri-doos-uh-pee
Function: noun
1 : a recipe that can help lower your food costs in a variety of ways
     a : by scaling back an expensive recipe to be less pricey but still just as tasty
     b : by turning an already inexpensive meal into something special
     c : by using leftovers in creative ways to stretch their use

Red and green romaine, vinaigrette, feta, almonds, and a touch of black pepper

This is the best all-purpose homemade vinaigrette we have found. Eric loves it and actually complains when I give him other dressings, even high quality ones like Newman’s Own. There is something about this vinaigrette that we both crave – especially on spring salad greens, romaine, or arugula. Try drizzling on fresh tomatoes with a little goat cheese or feta. Wonderful!

When I make salads, I like to add a few extras to make it seem “gourmet”. A few slivered almonds, a few crumbles of feta, and some cracked black pepper on top make for some texture variation and add some good flavor to the salad.

Original Recipe:

Tyler Florence’s Ultimate Vinaigrette

1 shallot, finely minced
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon honey
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Combine the shallot, mustard, vinegar, sugar, honey, oil and salt and pepper in a jar and shake to emulsify.

Luckily, this recipe is already pretty cheap so I didn’t need to change much to make it a “reducipe”.

Most of the time I substitute onion for the shallot (I rarely have shallots on hand). Adjust the onion to your liking; it is more pungent than the shallot.
I double the Dijon – I’m a sucker for mustard.
I add a touch more sugar for balance
I reduce the amount of olive oil – I like my dressing stronger and olive oil can be pricey. I tend to just “free pour”, shake, taste, and add more if it needs thinning.

How I change it:

Melissa’s Version – Ultimate Vinaigrette

1 tablespoon onion, finely minced
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2-3 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1-2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon honey
2-3 tablespoons olive oil, to taste
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Combine the onion, mustard, vinegar, sugar, honey, oil and salt and pepper in a jar and shake to emulsify.

I’m a big believer in “mise en place”, which is French for “setting in place”. It’s a term that describes the process where the chef lays out pre-measured ingredients ahead of time and combines them when appropriate during the cooking process. Here is how my setup and final product looked :

I recommend making this dressing at least 10-15 minutes before serving so that the flavors have time to marry. I usually double the recipe and keep it in the fridge, doling out portions for salads as the week goes on. Eric says it gets better and better each day he has it.

This one is a winner and it uses staple pantry items that I almost always have on hand. This homemade “ultimate” vinaigrette is also the ultimate in frugality, costing just pennies to make as compared to buying a bottle of Newman’s Own Red Wine Vinegar and Olive Oil Dressing at $2.49 a bottle. Enjoy!