Tart, Tasty Mustard Vinaigrette

Garlic red wine vinegar is the star of this tangy dressing. The olive oil adds a fruity balance. The mustard gives it thickness.

The beauty of this dressing is how the ingredients all come together. The mustard unites the vinegar and the olive oil in a union of big flavor. You will see the sauce thicken and get glossy as you whisk in the oil. It's a beautiful thing.

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
• 2-1/2 Tbsp. garlic red wine vinegar
• 2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
• 2 dashes hot sauce
• 1/8 tsp. sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1/4 tsp. Old Bay seasoning
• 1/4 tsp. celery seed
• 1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil

Directions

1. In a mixing bowl whisk together mustard and vinegar until they are combined and the mixture is pink and liquid.
2. Add Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, salt, pepper, Old Bay seasoning, and celery seed. Combine.
3. Drizzle in the olive oil as slowly as you can while whisking briskly. It's easiest to work the whisk with your dominant hand while pouring with the less coordinated one. If the mixture starts to look oily, stop pouring and keep mixing, let it combine before streaming in any more olive oil.
4. Taste before all of the olive oil is in and add more if it's too tart for your palate.

This makes enough for a dinner salad for someone who loves salad - which is easy to do if it's got this tart, spicy flavor on it - or for four small side salads. The fruitiness of the olive oil and the sourness of the vinegar make this an ideal dressing for farmers' market fresh greens and peppery arugula.

Whip It Good

For easier whisking, use a bottle of olive oil with a pouring spout. This will allow a slow stream of liquid to come out and will require less control of your pouring hand while you're also working the wire whisk.

Place your mixing bowl on a kitchen towel - a damp one works well if the fabric is slick - for a sturdier work base. Folding the towel so the bowl sits higher on one side than the other will make the dressing pool in the bottom of the bowl. This gives you a smaller area to cover with your whisk and can save some muscle.

The dressing will get thick and will hold its emulsion. If it settles, give it a whisk or pour it in a jar and shake it up.

Mix It Up

This is a method to getting a dressing you'll love. The mustard, vinegar, and olive oil are the trinity here, the rest are the variables, so play with the herbs and spices and make it your own.

If you want a spicier dressing, add more hot sauce. If you love coriander, sprinkle some into the mix. For a fresher taste, cut down the vinegar to 1 tablespoon and add 1-½ tablespoons of fresh lemon juice and add ¼ teaspoon of fresh thyme leaves, finely chopped.

A pour spout is handy for drizzling olive oil.

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