HOW TO MAKE SALAD DRESSING • Stockland ✘ Jamie's Ministry of Food, episode 08

Presented by Stockland and Jamie's Ministry of Food.

It’s all very well saying everyone needs to eat more salad, fruit and veg (it’s true, we do), but it should be a pleasure, not a chore! 

By dressing a salad you can make it delicious, which means you’ll want to eat it rather than just feeling like you need to eat it.

We like to make our dressings in jam jars because it’s so easy to see what’s going on. You can shake them up easily and any leftovers can easily be kept in the jars in the fridge.

We have a failsafe rule, 3 parts olive oil to 1 part acid, which can be a vinegar or citrus juice.

Always add a little bit of salt and pepper then screw the lid on and give the jar a really good shake. Then, it’s important to taste it. You want it to be a little bit salty and a little big acidic. Salad leaves are mostly water, so when the acid and salt hits them they draw out the flavour.

It doesn’t need to stop with just olive oil and acid, you can add mustard, garlic, yoghurt, herbs; anything goes as long as you start with the 3:1 oil to acid rule.

You never want to over dress, so use sparingly and always dress your salad just before serving. No-one likes a soggy salad.

Remember, you can always add a little bit more but you can’t take it away.

Here’s a recipe for a classic French dressing:

Place a clove of finely chopped garlic into a jam jar. Add 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard, 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar and 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil. Then a pinch of salt and pepper, put the lid on the jar and shake it.

It should look a bit creamy and have plenty of zing, to bring your salad to life.

Jamie’s Ministry of Food believes that by teaching people to cook for themselves and equipping them with some simple skills and food knowledge, communities are empowered to live healthier, happier lives.

Visit our How-To Series for more easy to follow video guides and get back in the rhythm of creating simple, delicious, nutritious dishes for the whole family to enjoy.

Stockland ✘ Jamie's Ministry of Food • HOW-TO-SERIES