29/03/2023
Quite a few of our customers have asked me for the recipe of our salad dressing. The main thing to understand is the basic precept of a successful dressing: vinegar & mustard first, then whisk in the chosen oil (or use a blender).
I use wholegrain mustard flavoured with honey or Guinness. The honey one is more difficult to obtain though all you have to do is to add a spoonful of honey to the 4 tablespoons of mustard. The Guinness one adds a little bitterness which is good if you are making a wild leaf salad with spicy chicken or smoked pork. But I digress. Here is how I make mine, enough for the day: in the blender I put in 12 peeled garlic cloves, 4 to 6 tablespoons of wholegrain mustard (flavoured with Acacia honey), a few sprigs of coriander (cilantro) and basil, half a pint of raspberry vinegar (though a good red wine vinegar is ok if you can’t find the raspberry vinegar), 2 tablespoons of turmeric, a tablespoon of ground cumin, a small handful of Szechuan peppercorns, a tablespoon of Himalayan salt. Now that you have assembled all these ingredients into your blender, give it a whirl or two. When it’s all mixed, with the blender still on, add a pint of sunflower oil (do not use olive oil unless you have to because it’s not as easy to digest, is expensive and may repeat on you) and about 6 teaspoons of toasted sesame oil. Sesame oil? The oomph it gives to the dressing is magical, and lingers on the roof of your palate. Taste and add a the juice of 2 limes. Voila!
