3 salad dressings to brighten up your spring
Published 10:49 am Thursday, May 5, 2011
It’s getting to be salad season.
Farmers markets are opening and you might even have your lettuce seeds planted outside already, too.
Herald food columnist Jan Roberts-Dominguez recently shared her f
avorite salad-making tricks and dressings.
She is great, a culinary alchemist, but I have to quibble with one of her comments.
She says in her salad piece, which is right here, that bottled, store-bought dressings are “a pretty dismal substitute for anything you can whisk together from scratch.”
While I think she has a point — making your own vinaigrette with lemon zest, shallots and mustard can be life changing — I beg to differ.
Dressings have come a long way, baby.
Yes, some of them are made with basement-bargain oils such as canola and cottonseed instead of healthful olive oil.
But, man, when you’re the mom of a 3-year-old and you need to get dinner on the table in three minutes, they sure do rock.
Here are my three favorite commercially produced dressings.
What are yours?
Newman’s Own Lighten Up Light Lime: This is the little black dress of salad dressings. You would not believe the refreshing brightness of the lime and, yet, it is not sour or cloying.
I like most of Newman’s dressings, actually, but it is a shame how many are made with vegetable oils instead of olive oil. That’s where bottled dressings fail you, I say.
Galeos Caesar: Think beyond salad.
This is the little dressing that could. It goes on EVERYTHING.
Best of all, I like it as a marinade for grilled asparagus and chicken. It’s garlicky. Yum.
Note: If you’re looking for a true Caesar, this is not your best bet.
It is actually quite mustardy and, in fact, contains mustard, so it can’t give you that classic Caesar taste. It is not, however, very miso-y, if you ask me.
Galeos Miso: This isn’t so much a salad dressing as an Asian coleslaw helper.
Dump this on a bagged grocery-store coleslaw mix and you’ll have a most flavorful meal in seconds. Add shredded carrot, chopped apple, raisins and green onions and you’re in heaven.
NOTE: Be aware, the Galeos line of dressings has come under fire recently because of a class action lawsuit that claims the calorie information is grossly misrepresented on the bottle.
You’ve been warned.
I don’t care what’s in it. I love it and I use it in moderation.
Now, tell us about your favorite dressings!
