Make a restaurant-worthy vinaigrette: It’s as easy as five ingredients and 5 minutes

Spring season is upon us, with abundant blooming flowers, sprouting trees, and, of course, the year’s first fresh produce. In the chef world, the fresh approach of spring is an inspirational time of year. Coming out of the winter season, we are eager to indulge in the bounty of these crisp months. From spring onions to ramps to peas and so much more, you can concoct many incredible dishes. Visually, spring is a lot of green; that is also the case in the food world. Nothing screams green more than a thought-out yet simple salad to me. While creating various salads during this time of year, one must always include a tasty dressing.

Dressings are an excellent vessel for versatility in salad making. A well-made dressing can elevate the dish, setting it apart from a blah salad. There are a few types of salad dressing options, all packed with flavor.

For many, the first thing that comes to mind is a creamy dressing. This is typically mayonnaise- or buttermilk-based and is usually the most decadent. This is where your Caesar- or ranch-type dressings come into play. One of my favorite spring dressings is a play on ranch dressing, using green garlic or wild ramps (if you can find them). This provides the allium-forward flavor in the ranch that we all know and love.

The second type of dressing, typically the easiest to make, is a broken vinaigrette. This is simple and fast but provides a different texture and flavor. I like this type of dressing when using a super tender green that won’t hold up to a heavier dressing. A broken vinaigrette is usually lighter in weight, as it simply involves putting vinegar, mustard and oil into a jar and shaking it. When doing this, you use a ratio of 1 part vinegar to 3 parts oil. You can also add any seasonings or a clove of garlic to add extra flavor.

The third type of salad dressing, and my favorite, is called an emulsified vinaigrette. This is the opposite of a broken vinaigrette. This type of dressing is what I typically make most frequently at my restaurant, Scratchboard Kitchen. Additionally, this is one of the first things I learned to make while working for Chef Thomas Keller during my time at Ad Hoc in Napa. The neat thing about an emulsified vinaigrette is that we make the impossible possible. We force the water and oil molecules together through friction and speed to create a luscious and smooth dressing. The texture is reminiscent of a thin mayonnaise. What is even cooler is that although it has the texture of mayo, it tastes light and zingy on the palate. Every time I make an emulsified, or what I call a restaurant-style vinaigrette, I have this same sense of satisfaction with a beautiful result.

Every type of dressing mentioned is tasty and has a time and place. Although made professionally in restaurants, making the broken vinaigrette is incredibly easy and will allow you to master a high-level technique. You will also add a wow factor to your spring salads. My vinaigrette recipe is basic and a great building block for creativity in the kitchen. Add spices, preserved lemon, bacon bits and really anything with flavor at the end of the blending process and you are guaranteed an impressive result. It is as simple as five ingredients and 5 minutes.

• Grace Goudie can be found making composed but not complicated recipes on her website gracegoudie.com or @chefgracegoudie on Instagram and TikTok. Dine on Chef Grace’s creative dishes at Scratchboard Kitchen in Arlington Heights.

Restaurant-Style Vinaigrette

¾ cup champagne vinegar

⅓ cup honey or agave

⅓ cup Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons salt

3 ⅓ cup neutral oil (canola, vegetable, grapeseed)

Start off by blending the vinegar, mustard, salt and agave on low speed for 10 seconds, until the ingredients are fully blended.

Turn the blender to high speed and steadily stream in the oil until the dressing is thick, like the consistency of mayonnaise.

Store this dressing in the fridge for up to one month.

Pro tip: I use a Vitamix Blender for this recipe. It is the best blender and worth the investment.

Makes enough for a month’s worth of salad

— Grace Goudie