Balsamic Vinaigrette

In planning for a class all about berries that I’ll be teaching soon at The Roanoke Coop, I’ve been stirring up and swapping out different dressings with varying lineups of salad ingredients. For a mix of spinach and sprouts and strawberries and pecans, I had first matched my popular Poppy Seed Dressing. Then I remembered how well balsamic vinegar pairs with strawberries and I started my search for a Balsamic Vinaigrette that would be up for the task. I wanted this dressing to be simple and perfectly balanced between sharp and sweet. After a bit of trial and error, I hit gold. I’ve made it a couple times and not only does it pair amazingly with strawberries and spinach, it brings out the best in just about every salad I’ve put it on. This is a new go-to recipe for me, for sure.

Makes 1 cup

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (splurge for the really good stuff; it makes a difference!)
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. honey (local if you can get it)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
• 1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp. fine sea salt

Instructions

1. Place all ingredients in a shallow bowl or a glass canning jar. Whisk, stir or shake until all is well-mixed. Drizzle generously over salads of all stripes. Keeps in an air-tight container in the fridge for about a week — but it won’t last that long!