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France

A relaxed friendly hands-on cooking holiday in the Dordogne, France

Classic French Vinaigrette

This recipe for classic French vinaigrette forms the basis for a good all-round dressing for any number of dishes that require a light but elemental presence...

A good dressing, or vinaigrette, should bring a dish together making it more than the sum of its parts.

So this is a basic vinaigrette which you can use to dress salads, hot and cold vegetables or as an alternative when something light and astringent is required (or for when you’ve just strained your perfectly prepared sauce through a sieve directly down the sink - you know who you are!).

A simple dressing like this should have a ratio of about one part vinegar to three or four parts oil and should be sharp, salty and fairly powerful.

And to help you remember that a classic vinaigrette should be kept simple, here’s a little ditty from Ogden Nash (and yes, I know my one has honey in it)…

A dressing is not a compot
A dressing is not a custard;
It consists of pepper and salt,
Vinegar, oil and mustard

Ingredients:

4 tbsp cider - or white wine - vinegar
a ‘cheffy’ pinch of salt (app 1 level teaspoon)
a generous twist of black pepper
1 tsp Dijon (smooth) mustard
1 tsp runny honey
250 ml sunflower oil

Method:

Place the vinegar, salt and pepper into a roomy bowl and whisk to dissolve.

Add the mustard and honey and whisk to combine.

Now, add the oil in a steady stream, whisking constantly (in a cheffy way) until you have a nice smooth emulsion.

Taste (it should be salty, sharp, slightly sweet and powerful) and adjust with more ingredients as you see fit.

Don’t dress your salad until the very last minute or, instead of lovely crisp green leaves, you’ll have algae!

This vinaigrette will keep for up to a week in a sealed jar in the fridge. Just shake to re-emulsify and use as required.

You have permission to publish this article and recipe electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as the following byline is included (a courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated):

"Jim Fisher is an English chef who runs www.cookinfrance.com: relaxed friendly hands-on cooking courses in the Dordogne region of south west France. Contact him via: http://www.cookinfrance.com or Tel: 0033 (0)553 302405"

Smoked Duck and
Orange Salad with
Classic Vinaigrette

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Bombel
24290
St Amand de Coly
France

GPS:
N 45° 01.915
E 001° 15.295

Email

Tel: 0033 (0)553 302405
Mob: 0033 (0)622 655789

5 Day/5 Night Cooking Courses Include:

Expert hands-on tuition with British chef

All courses conducted in English

All cooking ingredients, equipment and aprons

A continental breakfast each day

Lunch each day

Dinner
(Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday)

Tea, coffee and wine

An evening meal on the day of your arrival

En suite centrally-heated accommodation

Recipe pack containing all the dishes cooked during your stay

Entrance fees to places visited

Private and secluded pool

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Some of the things you'll be doing on the cooking course:

Learn how to cook pastries, breads and soups

Select and prepare the best fish and shellfish

Butcher common joints of meat

Cook classic French and Italian sauces

Construct modern dressings

Master the art of stylish contemporary food presentation

Our day courses:

• Hands-on practical tuition with experienced friendly tutors

• All ingredients

• Utensils

• Aprons

• Breakfast

• Lunch

• Wine and beverages

Classic French Vinaigrette

This recipe for classic French vinaigrette forms the basis for a good all-round dressing for any number of dishes that require a light but elemental presence...

A good dressing, or vinaigrette, should bring a dish together making it more than the sum of its parts.

So this is a basic vinaigrette which you can use to dress salads, hot and cold vegetables or as an alternative when something light and astringent is required (or for when you’ve just strained your perfectly prepared sauce through a sieve directly down the sink - you know who you are!).

A simple dressing like this should have a ratio of about one part vinegar to three or four parts oil and should be sharp, salty and fairly powerful.

And to help you remember that a classic vinaigrette should be kept simple, here’s a little ditty from Ogden Nash (and yes, I know my one has honey in it)…

A dressing is not a compot
A dressing is not a custard;
It consists of pepper and salt,
Vinegar, oil and mustard

Ingredients:

4 tbsp cider - or white wine - vinegar
a ‘cheffy’ pinch of salt (app 1 level teaspoon)
a generous twist of black pepper
1 tsp Dijon (smooth) mustard
1 tsp runny honey
250 ml sunflower oil

Method:

Place the vinegar, salt and pepper into a roomy bowl and whisk to dissolve.

Add the mustard and honey and whisk to combine.

Now, add the oil in a steady stream, whisking constantly (in a cheffy way) until you have a nice smooth emulsion.

Taste (it should be salty, sharp, slightly sweet and powerful) and adjust with more ingredients as you see fit.

Don’t dress your salad until the very last minute or, instead of lovely crisp green leaves, you’ll have algae!

This vinaigrette will keep for up to a week in a sealed jar in the fridge. Just shake to re-emulsify and use as required.

Smoked Duck and
Orange Salad with
Classic Vinaigrette

Booking is easy, and only an email or phone call away, so why wait? Strike while the iron's hot - book a cooking holiday in France now and share an experience you'll never forget!

CONTACT US, or phone now on: 0033 [0]553 302405 (Tip: leave out the [0] when phoning from outside France)

© 2010

Classic French Vinaigrette

This recipe for classic French vinaigrette forms the basis for a good all-round dressing for any number of dishes that require a light but elemental presence...

A good dressing, or vinaigrette, should bring a dish together making it more than the sum of its parts.

So this is a basic vinaigrette which you can use to dress salads, hot and cold vegetables or as an alternative when something light and astringent is required (or for when you’ve just strained your perfectly prepared sauce through a sieve directly down the sink - you know who you are!).

A simple dressing like this should have a ratio of about one part vinegar to three or four parts oil and should be sharp, salty and fairly powerful.

And to help you remember that a classic vinaigrette should be kept simple, here’s a little ditty from Ogden Nash (and yes, I know my one has honey in it)…

A dressing is not a compot A dressing is not a custard; It consists of pepper and salt, Vinegar, oil and mustard

Ingredients:

4 tbsp cider - or white wine - vinegar a ‘cheffy’ pinch of salt (app 1 level teaspoon) a generous twist of black pepper 1 tsp Dijon (smooth) mustard 1 tsp runny honey 250 ml sunflower oil

Method:

Place the vinegar, salt and pepper into a roomy bowl and whisk to dissolve.

Add the mustard and honey and whisk to combine.

Now, add the oil in a steady stream, whisking constantly (in a cheffy way) until you have a nice smooth emulsion.

Taste (it should be salty, sharp, slightly sweet and powerful) and adjust with more ingredients as you see fit.

Don’t dress your salad until the very last minute or, instead of lovely crisp green leaves, you’ll have algae!

This vinaigrette will keep for up to a week in a sealed jar in the fridge. Just shake to re-emulsify and use as required.

Smoked Duck and Orange Salad with Classic Vinaigrette

Booking is easy, and only an email or phone call away, so why wait? Strike while the iron's hot - book a cooking holiday in France now and share an experience you'll never forget!

CONTACT US, or phone now on: 0033 [0]553 302405 (Tip: leave out the [0] when phoning from outside France)

© 2010

A dressing is not a compot
A dressing is not a custard;
It consists of pepper and salt,
Vinegar, oil and mustard

4 tbsp cider - or white wine - vinegar
a ‘cheffy’ pinch of salt (app 1 level teaspoon)
a generous twist of black pepper
1 tsp Dijon (smooth) mustard
1 tsp runny honey
250 ml sunflower oil

Smoked Duck and
Orange Salad with
Classic Vinaigrette