3 salad dressings
- Prepare
- less than 30 mins
- Cook
- no cooking required
- Serve
- Serves 4
These three easy salad dressings are super-simple to make from storecupboard ingredients. Take your pick from French, honey and mustard, or marie-rose.
French dressing (aka vinaigrette) will transform anything from mixed salad leaves to tomatoes, avocado or tinned beans into a tasty side dish or simple starter. Try honey and mustard dressing with warm cooked new potatoes as a delicious accompaniment to sausages, pork chops or grilled chicken. Mix marie-rose dressing (aka seafood cocktail sauce) with cooked prawns and serve with Little Gem lettuce leaves or shredded iceberg lettuce for a classic prawn cocktail starter, or a sandwich filling.
Ingredients
For the French dressing (vinaigrette)
- white wine vinegar: 2 tbsp red or white wine vinegar
- mustard: 1 tsp mustard, ideally Dijon or French
- garlic: ½ garlic clove, crushed
- caster sugar: 1½ tsp caster sugar
- olive oilolive oil: 8 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, or a mix of olive oil and sunflower oil
- black pepper: salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the honey and mustard dressing
- white wine vinegar: 2 tbsp white wine vinegar or cider vinegar
- wholegrain mustard: 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
- honey: 1 tbsp runny honey
- vegetable oil: 6 tbsp sunflower or vegetable oil
- black pepper: salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the marie-rose dressing
- mayonnaise: 6 tbsp mayonnaise (around 75g/2¾oz)
- ketchup: 2 tbsp tomato ketchup
- lemon juice: 1 tsp lemon juice
- Worcestershire sauce: splash Worcestershire sauce
- cayenne pepper: pinch cayenne pepper
Method
To make the vinaigrette, put the vinegar, mustard, garlic, sugar, a pinch of salt and some pepper into a bowl. Whisk until well combined. Gradually whisk in the oil, 2–3 teaspoons at a time, until it is all incorporated and the dressing is thick and glossy.
To make the honey and mustard dressing, put the vinegar, mustard, honey, a pinch of salt and some pepper into a bowl. Whisk until well combined. Gradually whisk in the oil, 2–3 teaspoons at a time, until it is all incorporated and the dressing is thick and glossy.
To make the marie-rose dressing, put all the ingredients in a bowl and stir until thoroughly combined.
Recipe tips
Use the dressing straight away, or transfer to a screwtop jar and keep in the fridge: French dressing for up to 3 days; honey and mustard dressing for up to 5 days. The oil may solidify in the fridge, so leave at room temperature for around 30 minutes and whisk or shake the jar before using.
If you’re having a picnic, take the dressing in its jar and mix with the salad shortly before serving.