An Oft-Requested Vinaigrette

A sure sign you've found a good recipe is, I think, when a dinner guest pulls you aside toward an evening's end and whispers a request for a recipe you've just served them. And so too do I believe that when mothers and sisters and in-laws and family friends and party guest after party guest asks you to share a recipe, it's a keeper, a classic to tuck into your recipe box and tug out again and again and again.

This vinaigrette is such a recipe.

I'm ashamed to say that I've made nary another vinaigrette in the past three years. And I'm embarrassed to admit that because my track record will make you think this recipe is something really special, something that spins vinaigrette anew or, in the least, tips you off to a secret  ingredient that will make your next scratch-made salad dressing truly shine. 

This recipe is nothing of the sort. It is superbly simple, and made from ingredients you probably have sitting in your fridge right now. But lest it seem like I'm underselling my most-requested recipe, let me also say this: this vinaigrette is also extremely likable and, I believe, the only one you really need should you, like me, prefer to stand by one recipe for all time.

I discovered this humble vinaigrette during a morning date with Jamie Oliver, back when his show Jamie at Home ran around 7am. I don't recall what the show was about or what he did with the dressing but I do remember that by noon, I was mixing this mustard-spiked vinaigrette in a cast aside Mason jar and drizzling it over spring greens for lunch.

It was at once sweet and tangy, the tart lemon juice and bracing mustard made more likable by a splash of fruity olive oil and a drizzle of honey. The honey adds depth and a sweetness so subtle you wouldn't know it existed unless you spooned it in yourself. It is, I suppose, the secret ingredient in this oft-requested vinaigrette.

Lemon Mustard Vinaigrette
I like this zippy dressing best on a baby romaine salad tossed with homemade croutons, crumbled parmesan cheese and grilled asparagus. For the olive oil, choose something grassy and fruity; I like Trader Joe's Spanish olive oil. And please, use fresh lemon juice not something squeezed out of a bottle shaped like a lemon. Fresh juice makes all the difference here.

Makes about 1/2 cup  

6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Juice from 1 lemon
1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
1 tablespoon honey
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste 

Pour the olive oil, lemon juice, whole grain mustard and honey into a small jar. Place the lid on the jar and shake until well blended. Salt and pepper to taste. 

Use the dressing immediately or store it in the refrigerator until ready to use. Kept covered in the refrigerator, the dressing will last for about 1 week.

 -Adapted from Jamie Oliver