The modern Russian language absorbs more and more new words from abroad every year, and culinary is no exception. It is very fashionable to use dressings for salads, but not everyone knows what lies behind this word. A few simple explanations of the essence of this term, as well as recipes will help to understand what’s what.
What is dressing?
In life, everything is much simpler than it seems. New-fashioned linguistic tricks are no exception - how to attract a client without using a catchy word?
The word “dressing” is a sauce in the generally understood sense, but with a slight accent: it should have a pronounced taste (sour, spicy, spicy) and a smooth, uniform consistency, therefore, cream or vegetable oil are often used as the basis. The well-known dressing for Greek salad is a classic example of dressing.
How to make a simple dressing?
Dressing for a salad based on balsamic vinegar is the most common dressing in the Mediterranean, because it is there that the amount of fresh herbs to the main dish is sometimes amazing. To prepare a simple dressing, you need to take:
- four tablespoons of soy sauce and premium olive oil;
- 80 ml of water;
- 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar;
- a pinch of black pepper;
- 2/3 teaspoon of salt and soda.
Some innovators add garlic, but this is a violation of the rules - it is not in the classic recipe. Mix all the ingredients in one dish, lightly beat with a fork until a relatively uniform consistency is obtained and season with salad. Elite restaurants use special atomizers for this, so that the dressing droplets are evenly distributed throughout the salad without stirring.
Japanese salad dressing
The unusual name of salad dressing - wafu - has recently become increasingly common in various culinary shows, as the popularity of Asian cuisine is growing rapidly. As part of this dressing national ingredients:
- six tablespoons of sesame oil, rice vinegar and soy sauce;
- one small red onion;
- two tablespoons of granulated sugar;
- one tablespoon of white sesame seeds, slightly fried in a dry hot pan until a specific aroma appears.
Preparation takes no more than ten minutes: the onion must be finely chopped (for example, grated) and the mass passed through a sieve - two tablespoons will be required. Mix it with the rest of the ingredients and beat lightly until the ingredients are homogeneous. About 200 grams of sauce is usually obtained from such a quantity of products; it cannot be stored for more than 14 hours (in the refrigerator). Asians prefer to use it immediately so that the storage does not distort the taste of dressing.
Yogurt-based salad dressings
This dressing for salads is suitable for meat and fish salads, seafood dishes, eggs, etc. These include dressings based on cream, liquid sour cream, and dietary mayonnaise. Do not forget that this type of dressing should be infused a little to enrich your taste, but dishes that include yogurt dressings cannot be stored for more than 10-12 hours. A few savory dressings recipes for salads will help to significantly diversify lunch or dinner, since the same set of products in a salad, flavored with different dressings, will have a completely different taste and aroma.
We offer a couple of options:
- Mix 1 cup (250 grams) of yogurt without additives with 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar and the same amount of Dijon mustard. Add 1/2 teaspoon of dried parsley, mix thoroughly or whisk lightly with a blender.
- Combine 200 grams of yogurt with two tablespoons of finely chopped fresh basil and a pinch of black pepper. Add salt to taste. Dressing goes well with a salad of eggs, tomatoes and cheese or shrimp.
Mustard Lemon Dressings
Lemon-based dressings compete in popularity with previous ones because they consist of available ingredients, but at the same time have a lighter texture. They are ideally combined not only with green vegetables, but also with fish and warm salads. The main thing is that the heat treatment is minimal.
Preparing dressing for salads of lemon juice is as easy as shelling pears:
- Mix in one bowl four tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice with two tablespoons of olive oil, add a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar and 0.5 teaspoon of mustard powder. Knead thoroughly and beat until smooth, let it brew for half an hour in a warm place.
- Another spicy dressing recipe will please fans of sweet and sour tastes. Combine in one bowl two tablespoons of lemon juice, honey, and Dijon mustard, add 8 tablespoons of olive oil and a little salt to your taste. Beat a little with a whisk and immediately use it for salad dressing.
Thick dressing dressing for meat salad
Sometimes you want something really special, with a spicy-spicy taste, but without prejudice to health. In such cases, many save a simple warm salad of meat or sliced any type, seasoned with spicy dressing. For salads made from fresh herbs, it is not very suitable, as it has a pronounced spicy taste with bitterness, which is ideal in order to emphasize the taste of meat. What will be needed for cooking? Nothing complicated:
- one onion, peeled from the husk, grate;
- grated horseradish root on a fine grater - the finished mass should be on one tablespoon without a hill;
- chop parsley, dill or cilantro very finely chopped - should get about two tablespoons;
- Combine 150 grams of sour cream with two tablespoons of wine vinegar, add one teaspoon of finished mustard and salt to taste. Can be lightly seasoned with ground pepper.
Combine the resulting mixture with previously prepared ingredients, mix thoroughly and, if desired, beat a little with a blender.
It is important not to forget that the dressing of any cooking method should not stand for a long time without stirring, it must be periodically shaken, mixed, shaken so that the ingredients constantly exchange aromas.