Anne Morgan Delia Smith makes seven different salad dressings across her books, and not one of them comes from a bottle. Each one is built into a specific salad recipe, but they all work on their own once you know the base.
I have made every Delia Smith salad dressing on this list more times than I can count. Here is what goes into each one and how to make it.
1. Classic Vinaigrette
This is Delia’s foundation and the salad dressing recipe I reach for most. I make a double batch every Sunday and use it on everything from green salads to cold roast chicken, and it keeps in the fridge for a week.
Ingredients
- 1 rounded tsp Maldon sea salt
- 1 clove of garlic, peeled
- 1 rounded tsp mustard powder
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar (or red wine vinegar for a French dressing)
- 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- Freshly milled black pepper
How To Make It
Crush the garlic into the salt with a pestle and mortar until it becomes a paste, then work in the mustard powder and vinegar. Add the olive oil and whisk until glossy, and that is it: five minutes, six ingredients.
2. Lemon and Chive Vinaigrette
Same pestle and mortar method as the classic, but with lemon instead of vinegar. Delia uses this on her warm potato salad and the trick is to pour it over the potatoes while they are still steaming hot so they absorb the lemon into the flesh.
Ingredients
- 1 clove of garlic, peeled
- 1 level tsp rock salt
- 1 heaped tsp grain mustard
- 4 tbsp lemon juice, plus the zest of 1 lemon
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- A small handful of snipped fresh chives
- Freshly milled black pepper
How To Make It
Crush the garlic into the salt, add the grain mustard and lemon juice with the zest, then whisk in the olive oil. Stir in the chives at the end and pour over hot potatoes straight away.
3. Caesar Dressing
This one leaves the pestle behind and goes into a food processor. The anchovy fillets dissolve completely during blending so there is no fish taste, just a deep savoury kick that you cannot get any other way.
Ingredients
- 1 large egg
- 1 x 50g (2 oz) tin of anchovy fillets, drained (keep the oil)
- 1 clove of garlic, peeled
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 heaped tsp mustard powder
- Half a tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 150ml (5 fl oz) extra virgin olive oil mixed with the reserved anchovy oil
How To Make It
Put the egg, garlic, anchovies, lime juice, mustard powder, and Worcestershire sauce into a food processor and blend until smooth. Stream in the olive oil with the motor running until it thickens into a thin, pourable dressing for Delia’s caesar salad or chicken caesar.
4. American Blue Cheese Dressing
I always thought blue cheese was too aggressive for a salad dressing until I made this. Delia balances the sharpness with soured cream and a squeeze of lemon so it coats leaves without smothering them.
Ingredients
- 1 large clove of garlic
- 1 level tsp Maldon sea salt
- 1 rounded tsp mustard powder
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 tbsp light olive oil
- Crumbled blue cheese (Roquefort or similar)
- Soured cream
- Spring onions, finely sliced
- Freshly milled black pepper
How To Make It
Make the vinaigrette base first with garlic, salt, mustard, lemon, vinegar, and oil in a pestle and mortar. Stir in the crumbled blue cheese, soured cream, and spring onions, and the full method is in the blue cheese dressing page.
5. Spiced Couscous Dressing
This is the odd one out because it has no vinegar at all. It tastes like the spice mix you find in a jar of harissa but made from scratch, and it soaks into the couscous grains overnight getting better with time.
Ingredients
- 120ml (4 fl oz) extra virgin olive oil
- 1 rounded tsp cayenne pepper
- 2 tbsp ground cumin
- 2 heaped tbsp tomato purée
- 4 tbsp lime juice (about 2 limes)
How To Make It
Whisk the olive oil, cayenne, cumin, tomato purée, and lime juice together until smooth. Pour over the couscous and roasted vegetables in Delia’s roasted vegetable couscous salad and toss gently.
6. Lime and Caper Vinaigrette
Delia designed this for fried halloumi and the sharpness cuts right through the salty cheese. I spoon it over the halloumi while it is still in the pan so the dressing sizzles slightly and the garlic softens.
Ingredients
- Juice and zest of 1 lime
- 1 heaped tbsp capers, drained
- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
- 1 heaped tsp grain mustard
- 1 level tbsp chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
How To Make It
Whisk together the lime juice and zest, capers, white wine vinegar, garlic, grain mustard, coriander, and olive oil. Make it fresh each time because the coriander goes dark after a day.
7. Basil and Lemon Pesto Dressing
This is closer to a pesto than a vinaigrette, and it is the lightest Delia Smith dressing on the list. The Grana Padano thickens it so it coats pasta instead of pooling at the bottom of the bowl.
Ingredients
- 30g fresh basil leaves
- 25g Grana Padano, finely grated
- Finely grated zest and juice of 1 unwaxed lemon
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
How To Make It
Blitz the basil in a mini food processor until finely chopped, then add the Grana Padano, lemon zest and juice, and olive oil. Toss through warm ditalini pasta while it is still hot so it absorbs the basil flavour, as in Delia’s pasta salad.
