Balsamic vinegar vinaigrette. Vinaigrette: not a salad, but a sauce

If until recently you firmly believed that vinaigrette salad is an exclusively Russian dish, it’s time to find out the truth. It turns out that vinaigrette is a French dish, although it has already become a salad in the Russian culinary interpretation. But originally, vinaigrette was just a sauce and nothing more. Vinaigrette sauce was used mainly to season vegetable salads, which is why it became firmly attached to beetroot and potato salad with sauerkraut in our kitchen.

But in the French tradition, vinaigrette remained a sauce. Our favorite beetroot and potato salad is also well known there. It began to be called Russian salad there. But the French always season it with their favorite sauce.

About the sauce

What is a vinaigrette dressing?

There are several dozen variations of French sauce, but each of them is based on a combination of vegetable oil and an acidic environment. Olive, mustard, and sunflower oil can be used as vegetable oil.

Vinegar most often plays the role of an acidic environment. The most successful vinaigrette uses white wine vinegar, but you can also use apple cider vinegar and balsamic vinegar.

In addition to vinegar, lime or lemon juice, as well as any other naturally acidic juice, can be an acidic medium. For example, an unusual taste is obtained if vinaigrette sauce is made from pomegranate juice. You can also use sour dry wine.

The proportions of oil and vinegar in the dressing also remain unchanged. You can prepare vinaigrette in spoons or buckets, but the ratio of the main ingredients will always remain the same: three parts oil and one part vinegar (lemon juice).

As for additional ingredients, cooking here offers dozens of different options. And any cook or housewife can not only choose from already tried recipes, but also try their own strength to invent new varieties of the popular dressing.

Secrets of making vinaigrette sauce

The first thing that comes to mind when you mention the word “vinaigrette” is a familiar, simple vegetable salad. But it turns out that this dish got its name from the sauce of the same name, which originated in France. In Europe, it is known as one of the most delicious dressings for salads, cold appetizers and other dishes. The composition and preparation are very simple, but at the same time this combination has a rather original taste, which allows the product to be served with fish, pork, chicken and seafood.

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By the way, the famous and beloved Caprese and Greek salads are also seasoned with this sauce. And if it's still not in your cookbook, it's time to discover new flavors.

Simple, but very tasty. Probably, many will be surprised, what is special about the sauce, which consists of vegetable oil and vinegar? In fact, the main secret of cooking is additional ingredients that can be used to diversify the dressing depending on what dish it is intended for. Traditional version The classic recipe is very simple and goes perfectly with fresh vegetables, fish and meat dishes, seafood, and even dumplings. Well, if you decide to make a vinaigrette salad, then it comes in handy here. You will need: olive oil; vinegar; salt; pepper. The sauce ingredients are replaceable, and if you don’t like olive oil, you can use vegetable oil. And if you don’t have wine vinegar on hand, then dry white wine or lemon juice will do. The proportions are easy to remember - three parts butter and one part each of the remaining ingredients. If you are going to serve the dressing with main dishes, then you can make it in a bottle, carefully pour it in and add the desired ingredients. After this, the bottle will need to be shaken thoroughly.

How to prepare a filling for all types of fish? Very simple. Buy a selection of your favorite greens. It could be parsley, dill, thyme, basil, green onions. They need to be finely chopped, pour 2 tbsp. vinegar and let stand for a while. Next, add salt, stir thoroughly, add oil and pepper. Beat with a fork or whisk until smooth.

With mustard Adding mustard will help you achieve spiciness. Dijon is ideal. It is made from black grains and has a slightly sweet taste. This sauce is prepared using the classic recipe and adding 1 tsp to the ingredients. mustard. Vinegar, as it is also called, goes well with pork chops, chicken salad or soy products. With garlic

With garlic All you need to do is thoroughly grind a clove of garlic with spices, and then combine with the remaining ingredients. This vinaigrette goes perfectly with shrimp. You can savor it by adding it to a salad or simply pouring it over boiled seafood. With egg This option has a delicate texture and a pleasant, light taste. Vinaigrette with egg will be a tasty replacement for mayonnaise. Mash the yolk and add it to the gravy prepared according to the traditional recipe. Grate the egg white or finely chop it and add it to the finished sauce.

With tomato

By adding tomato to the vinegar, you will get an excellent spicy gravy for meat. Scald the tomato with boiling water to remove the skin. After this, thoroughly rub the vegetable through a sieve, and place the resulting pulp without seeds in the vinaigrette. With bell pepper This recipe came to us from the southern part of Europe. For it you will need red bell pepper. Bake the vegetable in the oven or microwave, remove the skin and mash until smooth. Add to the prepared vinaigrette and whisk with a whisk. Berry vinegar will add a special aroma. This dressing will perfectly complement the taste of smoked chicken and potatoes (baked or boiled). Useful tips If you want your product to be truly successful, then you should listen to several important recommendations. Remember that the French, if they add additional ingredients to vinegar, first mix them with vinegar and spices, and only then add oil. It is also worth remembering that the main ingredients need to be selected depending on the dish that you are going to season. If you use unrefined oil with a pronounced aroma, then it is better to use ordinary table vinegar. The aroma of the dressing is revealed 30-60 minutes after preparation, so it is better to take care of it in advance. You can easily experiment and add the products you like to the winegar, thus inventing more and more new tastes and unusual gastronomic combinations.

Basic recipe

The classic recipe for vinaigrette sauce is vegetable oil, white wine vinegar, salt and hot pepper.

Product composition:

1 tbsp. white wine vinegar;
3 tbsp. refined sunflower oil;
0.5 tsp black peppercorns;
0.5 tsp coarse salt

Cooking procedure

Grind the salt and pepper in a mortar until it becomes powdery. Add vinegar and ensure the salt is completely dissolved. After this, you need to pick up a whisk and whisk for a long time until the vinaigrette thickens a little and turns into a foamy whitish emulsion.

The classic sauce is ready. Most often, the sauce in this preparation is used only for seasoning vegetables. But other recipes for this sauce have a wider range of applications.

How to prepare vinaigrette?

Vinaigrette is prepared from simple ingredients that are easy to find in stores and on the market. In order for the salad to be as tasty and vibrant as possible, you need to strictly follow the described instructions and take all the ingredients in the specified quantities.

Preparing the vinaigrette should begin by boiling the vegetables. Place three beets (small in size), five potato tubers, 2-3 carrots in a pot of water, and cook all the vegetables until fully cooked. In the meantime, you can start preparing the remaining ingredients. Place 400 grams of sauerkraut in a common saucepan, chop a small onion, pour in half a can of canned green peas, as well as three diced pickles (for a more varied taste, you can also use pickled ones). After the cooked vegetables have cooled, they should be peeled and also cut into small cubes. The finished salad must be thoroughly mixed, salt to taste and seasoned with the original sauce, the preparation options for which are described below. Delicious vinaigrette is ready!

In addition to the classic vinaigrette, there are other varieties of it. Often, professional chefs, if housewives want to diversify it, recommend adding salted fish to the total amount of ingredients, the ideal option for which would be herring. Often this salad is made with smoked mackerel, which enhances the flavor bouquet; this vinaigrette can surprise your guests.

It is often prepared with the addition of boiled or smoked meat - this option is also considered unique, since the dish has an interesting taste. There is a salad option with berries, an example is lingonberries, which fit perfectly with the other ingredients; pomegranate seeds also have the same properties, which will add additional sourness. Vinaigrette with canned beans is also an interesting solution. If desired, you can add it instead of peas, which are included in the classic recipe. Fans of seafood can please themselves with a salad with the addition of lightly boiled squid.

As for serving, you can use special molds to serve the salad, but many chefs in restaurants serve it in whole boiled beets, in which a wide hole is first cut.

Mustard sauce

Vinaigrette dressing with mustard, in addition to vegetable salads themselves, perfectly complements meat dishes. This sauce is especially good with pork. In addition, this sauce is very tasty to pour over salted or marinated fish. Even banal salted sprats, sprinkled with vinaigrette sauce, turn into a real delicacy.

Product composition

1 tbsp. white wine or balsamic vinegar;
3 tbsp. olive oil;
0.5 tsp coarse salt;
0.5 tsp hot peppercorns;
1 tsp Dijon mustard.

Cooking procedure

Grind pepper and salt into powder in a mortar and dissolve in vinegar. Add mustard to the vinegar and start whisking, adding vegetable oil at the last moment.

Classic vinaigrette with peas

Vinaigrette is a popular in Soviet cuisine, a mix based on boiled vegetables - a relatively inexpensive appetizer, appropriate on a holiday table, and indispensable on fasting days. In a modern interpretation, the universal salad is supplemented with legumes, sauerkraut, and other pickles, and the obligatory beets, carrots and potatoes are often baked, but we will make a classic vinaigrette.

Ingredients:

Potatoes - 2-3 pcs.
Red beets (large) - 1/2-1 pcs.
Onion - 1 pc.
Carrots - 1 pc.
Salted/pickled cucumber - 1 pc.
Dill and parsley - 5-6 branches.
Green peas - 2-3 pods.
Vegetable oil - 2-3 tbsp. spoons.
Salt, pepper - to taste.

Preparation:

Garnished with a branch of greenery, serve homemade classic vinaigrette to the table!

Sauce with yolk

A hard-boiled yolk can be used as a stabilizer (thickener) for the sauce. This vinaigrette sauce can easily replace our usual and favorite mayonnaise. The sauce turns out thick, white, it perfectly complements any salads, as well as chicken, pork, and fish.

Product composition

3 tbsp. dry white wine;
9 tbsp. l. refined vegetable oil;
1.tsp. salt;
0.5 tsp peppercorns;
0.5 tsp mustard or 1 tsp. mustard powder;
3 hard-boiled chicken yolks.

Cooking procedure

Grind salt and pepper into powder and dissolve in dry wine. Add mustard powder or ready-made mustard and beat. Grind the yolks and add to the mixture of mustard, wine and spices. At the last moment, slowly add vegetable oil drop by drop and beat with a mixer or whisk. You should get a thick creamy mass.

Classic vinaigrette with sauerkraut and peas

This does not require acetic or citric acid; vegetable oil is used for dressing; the salad has a pleasant contrasting taste thanks to sauerkraut and pickles.

Ingredients:

Potatoes - 2 pcs.
Carrots - 2 pcs.
Beetroot (large) - 1 pc.
Pickled cucumbers - 2 pcs.
Sauerkraut - 100 gr.
Canned beans - 80 gr.
Peas - 80 gr.
Onion - 1 pc.
Salt, green onions - to taste.
Vegetable oil - 3 tbsp. spoons.

Preparation:

Useful tips

The classic vinaigrette gets its incredible taste thanks to Mediterranean or Provençal herbs. Add them to the vinegar before you whisk in the butter and you'll be amazed at the richness of flavors in your sauce.
Garlic lovers will also find a way to please themselves. For the amount given in the classic recipe, you will need 2 cloves of garlic. Grind them into a paste along with coarse salt and pepper in a mortar, then combine with vinegar, and then beat with oil according to the traditional method.
Sauces based on lemon juice are most harmonious with seafood. This vinaigrette is especially tasty if served with shrimp.
If your sauce is too sour, don't worry. A teaspoon of honey will save the situation. Add it to the sauce (you can use half a spoon) and whisk thoroughly. This way you will not only remove excess acid, but also add piquancy to the sauce. Many people like adding honey to French sauce so much that they simply can’t imagine a vinaigrette without honey.
Vinaigrette is an unstable sauce; it separates quickly, but it comes back together just as easily; you just need to shake it thoroughly before serving.
Whisking the ingredients for the sauce will be much easier, and the uniform consistency will remain much longer if all the components are at approximately the same temperature.
The sauce keeps well in the refrigerator and does not spoil for a very long time. Well, the fact that it delaminates there shouldn’t upset you. Just shake again before serving.

Vinaigrette: not a salad, but a sauce

Link Reply Up level Discussion thread. Yes, and for a long time.

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How to make French Vinaigrette sauce

And now the situation is such that there is nothing much ahead for us in Ukraine. My husband, a specialist with summer experience in the field of telecommunications, has been unable to find a job for 7 months. Either there is no suitable job or he is simply overqualified for what he has. Well, and a lot of other personal things - such as relationships with relatives, push me to escape to the other end of the earth. Although this will not solve many problems.

In general, something like this. Pour 9 tablespoons of olive oil into a bowl.

Pour in 3 tablespoons of wine vinegar, which, if desired, can easily be replaced with lemon juice. Close the jar with a lid.

Useful tips

It is important that it is sealed, otherwise the contents may end up partially on the table. All that remains is to vigorously shake the jar so that all the ingredients combine into a single whole.

See how the sauce changed color and became cloudy? That's how it should be.

Vinaigrette with fresh cabbage

I suggest making a vinaigrette with fresh cabbage. It is no worse than with sauerkraut, but on the contrary, there is less dampness and acidity.

Ingredients:

Beets (medium size) - 4 pcs.
Potatoes - 6-8 pcs.
Carrots - 4-6 pcs.
Onion - 1 pc.
Fresh cabbage - 2-3 handfuls.
Pickled cucumbers – 4-5 pcs.
Vegetable oil - for dressing.
Salt - to taste.

Preparation:

The preparation time for the vinaigrette is 2 hours, including cooking the vegetables.

Bon appetit and success in the culinary field!

Option 2: Quick recipe for vinaigrette with mustard

Store-bought chips are not the best option for vinaigrette; use them only if you don’t have a suitable grater or you are completely limited in time. Fry the potatoes over maximum heat in an ordinary frying pan; dishes with special coatings will not allow the oil to get too hot.

Ingredients

canned beans - 400 grams;
two hundred grams of potatoes and carrots;
three hundred grams of burgundy beets;
half a glass of clarified butter;
a spoonful of strong mustard sauce;
250 grams of cucumbers;
half a glass of finely chopped onion greens;
a quarter of a small lemon.

How to quickly prepare vinaigrette with mustard

Wash carrots and beets thoroughly with a soft sponge. Do not wipe, just blot lightly with a cloth. Wrap tightly with food foil and bake in the oven until done.

Grate the cucumbers on a large grater, wash the feathers of the young onion, shake off the moisture, cut diagonally, up to three centimeters long. Peel the potatoes, rinse and dry thoroughly. To further work with it, we will need a special grater that allows us to dissolve the root vegetables into plates a few millimeters thick.

Grate the potatoes into thin slices, heat a little oil in a large frying pan and place the chips in it in one layer. Turn the browned slices over with a wide slotted spoon and fry them on the reverse side, then place them on a rag or paper towel to get rid of excess fat.

Unwrap and clean the baked and cooled vegetables, cut them into centimeter cubes into different bowls. Squeeze the lemon into a bowl; if you accidentally get any seeds, be sure to catch them. Add mustard and oil, stir with a whisk.

Place a collapsible ring on the dish for salads or pastries. We spread the vinaigrette in layers, starting with the beets, and pour the dressing over each even layer. Beets are followed by beans, then cucumbers and lastly carrots. Carefully remove the ring, top the salad and cover the sides tightly with potato chips. Sprinkle the contour of the plate and top the vinaigrette with onion greens.

Salad with herring

Vinaigrette is a unique salad that you can add any food to. Remember everyone’s favorite herring under a fur coat, because all the ingredients are quite similar to the salad described. Why not add such delicious fish to the vinaigrette. We’ll consider what to put besides fish next. For 150 grams of herring fillet, take:

carrots - 1-2 pieces (depending on size);
potatoes - 3 pcs.;
beets - 1 large or 2 small;
pickles - 2 or 3 pcs.

Vegetables can be boiled or baked in the oven as usual. To do this, thoroughly wash all root vegetables under running water to remove any remaining soil, dry with a paper towel, and then wrap each vegetable separately in foil. Preheat the oven to 180° and bake until done, about 40 minutes. Then open the foil and leave the vegetables in the fresh air until they cool completely.

Then everything is prepared in the usual way: peel the skin and finely cut into cubes. Pickled cucumbers, previously peeled from seeds, are placed in the vinaigrette.

Clean the herring from the insides and the top film, wash it under water and use tweezers to remove all the bones so that they do not get caught in the salad. Then the fish is cut into small cubes, like other products.

An original, very tasty vinaigrette according to classic recipes for the holiday table

I welcome everyone to our website. A popular salad in Russia, it is loved and prepared everywhere. But it would seem that such a simple, hearty cold appetizer is not suitable for a holiday table, as many people think. And in vain, the classic well-known vinaigrette can be prepared in different ways.

The recipes below should dispel the myth of the everyday treat. New ingredients will add bright notes to the taste. And such a beautiful appetizer will definitely decorate the table among other treats.

This article will be useful to you if you are planning a holiday menu and looking for new interesting recipes. The dish can also be prepared for a lunch snack, both tasty and healthy. We also have another article on this topic, an excellent selection of classic recipes for vinaigrette with beans and sauerkraut.

There are no particular difficulties in cooking, except that you need to boil the vegetables in advance; remember, beets need 1 hour to be fully prepared, carrots 40 minutes, and potatoes 20 minutes is enough. Take this into account when cooking vegetables; it is also better to cook them without removing the peel.

Vinaigrette with fried champignons

A recipe for those who like to add mushrooms to almost all dishes. Perhaps I won’t open America for you, but still, the salad will turn out incredibly tasty if you add champignons to it. I only had frozen mushrooms on hand, which I subsequently fried; pickled ones would be just as good.

Delicious vinaigrette with herring and green onions

Every housewife probably knows how to prepare such a snack. And if you modify the salad a little by adding lightly salted herring, seasoning it with sour cream mixed with mayonnaise, then the taste will sparkle with new colors. Your guests and family will be delighted with this snack.

Vinaigrette without cabbage

A delicious healthy vegetable snack that will not leave you indifferent. There are many options for preparing this salad; I offer a recipe without adding cabbage. Perhaps you don’t like it or you just didn’t have it on hand, but you want to treat yourself to a snack. A very simple and fairly quick way to prepare a great salad.

Vinaigrette with green peas

A bright, beautiful salad will undoubtedly decorate any table. Whether it's a celebration or a regular weekday, a hearty snack will come in handy. A classic recipe that many people know from childhood. It will be a pleasure to cook and eat.

Roasted vegetable vinaigrette with prunes

Roasted vegetables in the oven make an amazing vinaigrette. By the way, much more vitamins are stored in baked vegetables. And prunes will only enhance the taste of a wonderful classic snack. This salad is no more difficult to prepare than a regular one, but it will definitely become your favorite.

Vinaigrette with canned beans

Hearty healthy salad. Vegetables retain their vitamins even when cooked. The main thing is to cool them thoroughly before chopping. Otherwise, the vinaigrette can spoil very quickly. The next day after cooking, the treat will only become tastier, it will be completely soaked and the taste will be amazing.

Vinaigrette with apple, beans and garlic

After combining all the ingredients, be sure to leave the salad to soak all the ingredients together. Then you will get a rich, bright, piquant taste incomparable to anything else. Garlic can be replaced with regular onions if desired.

Option 1: Classic recipe for vinaigrette with mustard and honey

Vinaigrettes are seasoned with mustard sauce mainly for the sake of aroma; it does not require any particular spiciness. Nevertheless, it is hot sauces that, as a rule, have the most pronounced aroma; you will have to focus on your taste sensations to find the right balance. Choose the simplest honey, there is no need to look for special varieties, the task of this component is the same - a delicate, characteristic aroma.

Ingredients

pickled gherkins - 200 grams;
four potatoes;
two salad beets;
150 grams of carrots;
medium sized bulb;
beans - 180 grams.

To the gas station:

a quarter glass of oil;
a spoonful of mustard and vinegar;
two cloves of garlic;
honey - a tablespoon (add as needed).

Step-by-step recipe for vinaigrette with mustard

Soak the beans in clean water overnight. Change the water and boil the beans, covered, until softened. Monitor their condition, after about 50 minutes from boiling, do not let the beans boil.

Boil the washed vegetables in different pans. At least this applies to beets; do not let them stain other vegetables with their lasting color, and alyssals take longer to cook than other vegetables. So, cook the carrots and potatoes for twenty to forty minutes, and the beets will cook for at least an hour. We check all vegetables for the degree of readiness equally, pricking them on the edge of a knife. Remove vegetables that slide freely from the blade and cool.

It is better to start slicing with cucumbers. Spread them as small as possible, but they should retain their shape. Ideally, these will be cubes half a centimeter in size. We cut the peeled, boiled vegetables a little larger, set the beets aside and pour a spoonful of oil on them, and immediately send the potatoes and carrots to the cucumbers.

Cut the onion into squares the size of the cucumbers, place them and the beans in a common bowl and mix. Add the cooled beans last so that the soft skin of the beans does not burst when stirring.

Pour vinegar into the oil and add mustard, stir, add garlic. If the salad isn't salty enough, you can add salt to the dressing instead of salting the whole dish. Lastly, add honey to the dressing, add no more than half a spoon and taste after stirring. The dressing should not be sweet or smell too much of honey, but even without its aroma the vinaigrette will not be as piquant.

Dress the salad to your liking or let everyone do it at their own discretion.

Option 5: Delicious vinaigrette with mustard grains and smoked fish

The variety of fish was chosen from the most affordable ones; if you prefer any other, you can replace it without thinking about the loss of taste. We use ready-made mustard, with fairly soft grains, you can increase the quantity, but don’t get carried away, stir the vinaigrette thoroughly, taking a sample.

Ingredients

two hundred grams of potatoes;
one salad onion;
equal parts, 150 grams each, of smoked herring and raw beets;
whole mustard seed sauce;
three tablespoons of pure, unfragrant oil;
salt and half a small lemon.

How to cook

We cook as usual for a vinaigrette, the potatoes are in their skins and until softened, we don’t peel the beets either, but you need to cook them a little less than is customary. Soak a small root vegetable in boiling water for up to 45 minutes; it will no longer be raw, but will remain somewhat hard. Air cool the vegetables slowly.

We gut and clean the fish. Instead of herring, any other herring will do; the requirements are salty and dense cold-smoked flesh. We disassemble the fillet from the bones, remove it from the skin and cut it into slightly larger vegetables.

While mixing the products, at the same time add mustard a spoonful and taste. The purpose of mustard seeds is to add flavor without in any way overpowering the other components of the vinaigrette.