Salad is a problematic topic for me. What is a salad anyway? I’m from Minnesota, so much so that the essence of my blood is not plasma but rather a blend of mayonnaise, ketchup, and cream of mushroom soup: the three mother sauces of the upper Midwest.
But we’re not here to talk about Jello salad. We’re here to talk about when to emulsify a salad dressing.
Speaking broadly, the bolder the components, the creamier the dressing. Creamy means an emulsion. An emulsion is a mixture of two or more liquids that don’t mix. An emulsifier is something added to stabilize an emulsion.
If we’re making a salad of butter lettuce, shaved radishes, and herbs, a simple vinaigrette is perfect. Acid + oil. If we whisk furiously (or shake), the oil and vinegar will disperse but never really bind. That’s okay. The salad won’t get uniform coverage, but these raw veggies are delicate, so we can let their rawness shine through a little. We can leave the dressing broken.
But let’s say Mac and I are serving our most classic radicchio salad: chioggia with toasted hazelnuts, shaved Beecher’s cheddar, and thinly sliced tart apple. A broken dressing won’t cut it. Radicchio is bitter. An emulsified anchovy vinaigrette (recipe below) unifies this salad.
Creating the unbreakable bond requires an emulsifier. Egg yolk is the gold standard: it’s the foundation of caesar dressing. If you’re nervous about eggs at the moment, there are other options. Prepared mustard and yogurt also have binding properties.
Experiment! Start with equal parts acid and oil, and you’ll be alright. Go nuts.
We’re glad you’re cooking with us.
Cheers,
Sten and Mac
chef snacks
Cooking tip
High-speed blender. Mac and I are wary of recommending appliances. You’ll certainly hear me say that again. A blender, however, is essential for the modern chef. Historically, chefs achieved velvety-smooth sauces through the aggressive application of cream and butter (check out the Larousse Gastronomique for a fun, albeit largely irrelevant, historical journey through French cooking). Now it’s all about the vegetables. Lightness. To make a smooth pepper sauce, you must be able to blend.
Blending doesn’t have to break the bank (or take over the countertop). An immersion blender and a mason jar come in handy for making non-restaurant quantities of dressings and mayonnaises.
Our member resource library is coming soon! We’ll dive into specs and other equipment recommendations in the Knife Roll section.
Purveyor spotlight
Beecher’s Handmade Cheese. Their Flagship is the gold standard for cooking cheese here in the PNW. It’s crumbly, nutty, and delicious. You can see them make it right down at Pike Place Market. Find it in almost any grocery store in the greater Puget Sound region.
Anchovy vinaigrette recipe
Think of this as a lighter, punchier Caesar dressing. We love this on bitter greens, charred cabbage, and steamed purple sprouting broccoli. It also happens to be egg and dairy free.
Yield: about 1 cup
2 garlic cloves
1 (2 oz) can of anchovies, oil drained
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon fish sauce
¼ cup sherry or red wine vinegar
pinch of chili flake and lots of freshly ground black pepper
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Blend together all of the ingredients, except for the olive oil, until smooth. Slowly stream in the olive oil and taste for seasoning. This vinaigrette will keep for up to two weeks in the refrigerator.
