Beyond basic vinaigrette: alternative salad dressings

I always make a classic vinaigrette, but what other dressings should I have in my arsenal?
Sarah, York
This sounds like a job for Emily Nunn, the American food writer behind cult newsletter The Department of Salad: “I’m going to sound as if I work for the International Salad Federation,” she says, “but the advice I would give Sarah is not to fence herself in. There are a million different kinds of salads, and just as many vinaigrette out there.” That’s to say, don’t dismiss vinaigrette out of hand just because you’ve mastered the classic. “A light lemon vinaigrette is perfect for spring, but if you want something stronger, chop up shallots, add them to the jar, shake and leave to sit in the fridge overnight.” The simplest adjustments will keep things interesting – Nunn’s suggestions include anchovies, capers, sherry vinegar.

“I would then get Sarah thinking about green goddess dressing,” adds Nunn, who first makes it as a dip (for sugar snap peas, say) by blending tarragon, mint, chives, parsley, red onion, garlic, lemon juice and anchovy, then mayo, soured cream and maybe salt. To turn that into a salad dressing, she loosens the mix with buttermilk, a little more mayo and extra seasoning and/or lemon juice if needed.

Other mayo-based delights include Skye McAlpine’s creamy mustard dressing: “It’s my go-to year-round,” says the author of recently published A Table Full of Love. “I’m obsessed with it.” And she’s not alone: “Whenever I make it, everyone asks for the recipe.” So, here goes: combine a tablespoon each of mayonnaise, dijon mustard and wholegrain mustard, two tablespoons of red-wine vinegar, three to four tablespoons of olive oil (“depending on how you like it”) and a bit of salt. “It goes with pretty much everything – bitter leaves, baby gems, fennel, radishes, peas.”

Everyone also needs a sesame-ginger dressing in their back pocket, says Nunn, who makes hers by combining garlic, ginger, sesame oil, dijon mustard, rice vinegar, lime, soy, maple syrup and red pepper flakes. You could, she adds, make it creamy “with tahini or peanut butter, and serve it on noodles or with spinach”. Gregory Marchand, chef/owner of Frenchie in central London, meanwhile, shakes his tahini and sesame oil with lemon juice, neutral oil and a little za’atar, which “goes really well with cauliflower”.

For Rachel Stephanie, founder of Spoons, a London-based Indonesian supper club, it’s hard to better a Javanese spiced grated coconut dressing from the urap salad. “Beyond the classic gado gado peanut sauce, this Indonesian salad is often overlooked in the west. But it’s simple, fresh and fragrant.” She starts by blending shallots, garlic, red chillies, galangal and tamarind, then sautes the spice mixture, adds grated coconut and mixes continuously until the spices are well absorbed and the grated coconut dressing has dried up. It will keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks, ready to “kick up the vibrance” of blanched veg, be that spinach, green beans or beansprouts.

Essentially, Nunn says, open your mind: “Explore all the different kinds of salads there are, because the whole world eats salad.”

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