My Favorite Salad Dressing of the Moment: Creamy Tarragon Dijon Vinaigrette



Sometimes you have to clarify these things. I love eating salads and I make homemade dressings all the time, so I'm always coming up with a favorite combination. Right now, though, this is The One. It's got everything I love: the bright tang of lemon, the herbal goodness from some fancy tarragon dijon mustard and a good dose of creaminess thanks to a dollop of mayonnaise. And of course, lots of garlic. This is something you make with good friends and share with good kissers.





Normally, I tend to shy away from mayo-based dressings, but when our jar was almost finished I shook up the rest of the mayo along with some standard vinaigrette ingredients. The results were delicious and I've been shaking up a batch every week now. Salad greens from our CSA get tossed with a variety of local vegetables and sometimes a boiled egg. Lunch, there it is! Part of a dinner plate? Yes, please! Fill up on your greens and pour on this dressing because things are going to get addictive.

Can't find tarragon dijon? Just use regular dijon mustard and add in some fresh herbs - whatever you have around. May I suggest tarragon? Though I also think dill would be excellent too.


Creamy Tarragon Dijon Vinaigrette
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large tablespoon of mayonnaise
1 large teaspoon of tarragon dijon
juice of 1 lemon
1 really fat clove of garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon honey or agave syrup
1 large pinch of kosher salt
a good grind of black pepper

Combine all the ingredients in a small jar with a tightly fitting lid. Shake, shake, shake! Give it a taste. Does it need more salt? Lemon? Honey? Or maybe it's a bit thick. If so, add in a teaspoon of water and shake again. Pour over your favorite salad.

Jan Halvarson

7 comments:

Its_Lily said...

You had me at Tarragon. I don't grow many herbs, but tarragon is a keeper. Have you tried it on chicken? Delicious.

Melissa@Julias Bookbag said...

This sounds HEAVENLY!! I started making my own salad dressings a few years ago and haven't looked back...this one looks like a Must Try!

Kate said...

I have that exact salad dressing jar. I inherited it when my grandma passed away (weird thing to inherit right?) but the lid finally wore out...so I replaced it with a pesto lid that seems to do the trick! I love homemade dressings! Yum!

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Missy said...

I have that yellow Blend and Store Osterizer, too! I love it. Only mine has cinnamon and sugar inside.

DASI GLAM said...

It sounds wonderful, I'm a big fan of salad dressings. I'll try it this weekend.

Bijoux said...

Your salad looks amazing! I'm not sure I've ever tried tarragon in anything but now I'm curious to try it out.