My love for salad dressing is well documented. I just love playing around and finding ways to enhance the flavor of my food. This is a great vinaigrette for when you’re looking to enhance both the flavor and texture of a dish. I prefer adding it to nicoise – the marinated tomatoes, which are tart and slightly sweet and literally bursting with flavor – play into the whole caper and olive vibe that nicoise has going on, and the fresh herbs cut through the fat from the olive oil, fish and egg perfectly.
Of course, you don’t have to serve this over nicoise if that’s not your vibe. I’ve used this vinaigrette to dress a simple summer salad of mozzarella, homemade sourdough croutons and crispy prosciutto and it was forking’ fabulous. You could spoon this right over some fresh grilled chicken, fish or shrimp as a play on a chimichurri, or you could even dress a cold pasta salad with the stuff. No matter what you pour this over, it’ll be a winner. Here’s how you make it.
Marinated Tomato & Herb Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 1/4-1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2-3 tsp red wine vinegar
- 2 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 clove finely chopped garlic
- palmful fresh chopped parsley
- palmful fresh chopped oregano
- 6-8 cherry tomatoes, halved through the stem
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
-
Add the garlic and fresh herbs to a small mixing bowl. Add enough olive oil to cover the herbs entirely. Stir to combine.
-
Add the mustard and red wine (to desired level of tang) and stir to combine.
-
Add the tomatoes and stir. Add salt and pepper, to taste.
-
Allow the dressing to sit at least 10 minutes at room temperature before serving.