Dress Up Your Simple Salad with Homemade Italian Salad Dressing

I love a simple salad in the summer, something I can make quickly, but that is still delicious and healthy.  There is a restaurant that I love to frequent that has such a salad, and it was time to bring it home to my kitchen.  Their Italian Salad Dressing, the house specialty, is what makes this salad one of the very best I’ve ever had.  Fantastic greens blanket whatever other veggies you love.  For me, it’s fresh tomatoes and cucumbers.  Especially when they are out of my garden!  Whatever your favorite salad, this dressing is amazing on it.  Now that I have a bottle of dressing in the fridge, I need to make a Cobb salad to put it on!

What Goes into Italian Salad Dressing?

Lots of people have their own recipes for Italian Salad Dressing.  My family has one too.  What is common in most of them is olive oil and vinegar.  Quality counts in this recipe, and since you aren’t cooking the oil, a quality extra virgin olive oil is perfect for this Italian Salad Dressing.  I love red wine vinegar in most of my Italian Salad Dressing recipes, but for this particular one, apple cider vinegar works amazingly well.  The flavor in the vinegar adds a lot of depth and a bit of sweetness to this Italian Salad Dressing.  The other thing that makes this a stand out when it comes to Italian Salad Dressing is anchovy paste.  The original recipe called for filets, but I find the paste works great because with a few shakes, it melts right into the dressing.  It doesn’t give a harsh fishy taste either, as you might expect.  It’s just another layer of flavor in a delicious Italian Salad Dressing.

Italian Salad Dressing:  A Pretty Summertime Gift

I love making Italian Salad Dressing in a jar that I’ve kept out of the recycle bin, or even canning jars.  As long as it has a lid, it’s fair game.  I pour in all the ingredients, give it a few good shakes, and add a ribbon.  Poof!  The perfect summer gift for anyone on your list!

1 t anchovy paste

1/2  C apple cider vinegar

1 C extra virgin olive oil

1/2 t oregano

1/2 t salt

1/4 t pepper

1 t garlic, finely diced

3 T cornstarch (I use finely ground tapioca starch and it’s great)

In a jar, place the paste, vinegar, and oil.  Cap and shake well.

Add the remaining ingredients and shake well.

Serve over your favorite salad.

Next time you have a salad, don’t reach for the bottle of premade stuff!  Make some Italian Salad Dressing and enjoy!