Five minutes and a pestle and mortar are all Delia Smith’s vinaigrette dressing needs, starting with sea salt crushed into a clove of garlic until it turns to a purée. Mustard powder, balsamic and sherry vinegars and olive oil go in one at a time, then it’s whisked hard. It’s enough to dress a salad for 4 to 6.
She calls this her favourite version in How to Cook Book Two (1999), though she admits she always prefers other people’s dressings to her own, her husband’s most of all. Her Complete Cookery Course had used a single tablespoon of wine or cider vinegar to 6 of olive oil in 1983, and by 1992 balsamic was an option too. The two vinegars together give a rounder flavour than wine vinegar alone, with a little sweetness from the balsamic and a mellow, nutty depth from the sherry.
Delia Smith’s Vinaigrette Dressing
Course: SaladsCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy4
servings5
minutes155
kcalGarlic crushed into sea salt, then mustard powder, two vinegars and plenty of olive oil, all worked together in a pestle and mortar. This is her favourite combination, printed on page 153 of her second How to Cook book.
Ingredients
- For the vinaigrette:
1 rounded teaspoon Maldon sea salt
1 clove garlic, peeled
1 rounded teaspoon mustard powder
1 dessertspoon balsamic vinegar
1 dessertspoon sherry vinegar
5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
freshly milled black pepper
Directions
- Salt: Put the salt in the mortar and crush it fairly coarsely with the pestle.
- Garlic: Add the garlic and keep crushing. As soon as it meets the salt it breaks down into a purée.
- Mustard: Add the mustard powder and work it in with circular strokes for about 20 seconds, until it’s well blended, then grind in some black pepper.
- Vinegars: Add both vinegars and work them in the same way.
- Oil: Pour in the olive oil, switch to a small whisk and whisk thoroughly. Give it another whisk just before you dress the salad.
Notes
- For a salad for 2 or 3, halve every amount, as Delia suggests.
- Add the dressing a little at a time and toss the leaves gently with your hands. If any collects in the bottom of the bowl, you've used too much, a point her Cookery Course and her video both make.
FAQs
What is the basic formula for a vinaigrette?
There isn’t a fixed one, and Delia treats every version as a guideline to adjust to your taste. Her favourite here works out at about 1 part vinegar to 4 of oil, while her Complete Cookery Course goes as far as 1 to 6, which is my own maths from the amounts.
If you like it sharper, use a little more vinegar, and for a softer dressing use more oil. She also warns against the commonest mistake, too much vinegar, and even more against sugar added to hide it.
Is vinaigrette the same as French dressing?
Yes, in Britain, where French dressing usually means a plain oil and vinegar vinaigrette like this one. The bottled orange-coloured French dressing sold in America is a different, sweeter thing.
The word itself comes from the French for sour wine, which is how Delia explains vinegar in her books.
How far ahead can I make it?
Only a little, because Delia likes it made and used as fresh as possible, as the oil loses its fragrance once it meets the air. To get ahead, crush the salt, garlic and mustard and work in the vinegars, then add the oil at the last minute.
Her Complete Cookery Course allows leftovers to be used the next day, but no longer.
Which vinegars and mustards can I swap in?
Red or white wine vinegar works, and Delia says you can use a different mustard or none at all. In her 2020 Delia’s Techniques video she makes it with a tablespoon of wine vinegar and suggests Dijon in place of the mustard powder.
Her Cookery Course also gives two simple changes, a teaspoon each of chopped herbs such as chives, tarragon and parsley stirred in, or lemon juice instead of vinegar for a sharper dressing to serve with fish.
How do I make it without a pestle and mortar?
Crush the garlic and salt together on a board with the blunt edge of a knife, then put everything into a screw-top jar and shake it hard. That’s the method her video shows, and her Cookery Course shakes the dressing in a jar too.
For a big batch, Delia notes that a blender does the job.
Is there a lighter version?
Yes, her low-fat Almost Vinaigrette, from her third How to Cook book (2001), uses just a teaspoon of olive oil for 2 people. The flavour comes from a tablespoon each of wine and balsamic vinegar with wholegrain mustard and a small clove of garlic, and she puts it at 29 calories a serving.
