The secret of French salad | I'm not "telling you salads"! | Meaning Raconter des salades | The best ever salad dressing: La vinaigrette

The best ever salad dressing: La vinaigrette. Les carottes râpées @monamieshon.com

Summer is approaching…

Oh actually, it’s already summer here where I live. 

Oh la la, look at those numbers… high 30's C in May…!

The hot weather calls for refreshing and light meals, and the first dish I have in mind is salad.

I love salads for everything it can provide us. From its simplicity to prepare to its health benefits.

The salad isn't only the greens as some would think. Well, originally yes.

Salade (french) is from Salata (Latin) which means salted herbs.

People use to eat raw vegetables (mostly greens/herbs) with salt, oil and vinegar.

That's why they named this dish Salata, Salade.

So actually, salad can be considered as one of the most ancient dish.

But since the 18th century, people started to mix veggies, fruits and other ingredients that married well together and this is what we inherited. The word Salad now means "a mix of different ingredients".

So make your imagination and creativity work!

Making salad is never boring! Really, I'm not telling you salads.

"Telling salads"! What?? What do mean by... telling salads?

"Raconter des salades" is a French expression to describe some kind of stories that are too exaggerated or invented, some sort of lie to complete a story.

Do you have any similar expressions in English?

You may understand better the expression /metaphor if you think of the meaning of Salad itself.

Like the way we mix many different ingredients in one bowl but that still goes well together,

any exaggerations, lies, contradictions etc. are filling the gap to make a whole story.

The best ever salad dressing: La vinaigrette. Les carottes râpées @monamieshon.com

Well, with this interesting story, let's make some salads because I'm really hungry now!

For me, the most important ingredient in a salad is "la sauce" - the dressing. And I'm very picky about it.

Je ne raconte pas de salades, (I'm not telling you salads) a well-made basic vinaigrette is the best!

You make the basic vinaigrette then you can still add some more seasoning to it

in order to change the mood depending on the salads you prepare.

It can go with every salad. Really.

So before making the salads, I'm going to show you the basic of all basics,

the easiest and the best salad dressing ever!

La vinaigrette.

Vinaigrette @monamieshon.com

Can you guess why this dressing is called vinaigrette?

Yes, you're right, because it is made of "vinaigre", which means vinegar in French!

When I moved to the US, I was surprised to see that many people actually were buying the salad dressings because when I was in France, everybody around me used to make their own. 

It is so easy and so much healthier to make your own salad dressing! 

No, it doesn't take time. No, it isn't easier to buy at the store. 

You'll see, this vinaigrette is extremely simple to make and delicious!

What you need to make this basic vinaigrette is only vinegar, oil, mustard and salt and pepper.

So as I said before, you make the basic vinaigrette then you can still add some more seasoning to it in order to change the mood depending on the salads you prepare.

You can use any vinegar you have at home.

I most often use either apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar or white balsamic vinegar, my favorites!

You can also use any vegetable oil you have at home.

When I want a neutral flavor, I generally use either grape seed oil or avocado oil or walnut oil. When I want a stronger flavor, I definitely use the Cold pressed Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Now about the mustard, I definitely recommend you to use the French Dijon mustard.

"La moutarde de Dijon"

This traditional mustard is actually named after a city Dijon in the East of France where it was made and used for the first time back in 1336.

You can find 2 types of Moutarde de Dijon: One with a coarse grains ,"La moutarde ancienne" (ancient mustard) and the "original" one which is smoother with a pale yellow color.

In this vinaigrette you may use either one. They both work perfectly!

If you don't have one, you can substitute by the yellow/brown mustard but it would have a different taste...

The best ever salad dressing: La vinaigrette  @monamieshon.com

So let's make this essential salad dressing, la vinaigrette:

1/3 Cup oil

1/2 Cup vinegar

2 Tbs mustard

pinch of salt and pepper

Add all the ingredients in a jar, shake it and it's ready!

Make a large amount, keep it sealed in the fridge and enjoy whenever you want!

Enjoy salad in good company and don't tell too much salads...!

Watch my video below for step by step instructions: