Giada De Laurentiis makes this easy salad dressing every week — and you should too

You probably have all of the ingredients in your pantry already.

I’m not opposed to store-bought shortcuts — I’ll be the first to admit I use them all the time — but there’s one item I’ll never buy premade from the grocery store: salad dressing. Sugar, corn syrup, potassium sorbate, xanthan gum, and phosphoric acid, along with other sweeteners and preservatives, are extremely common in store-bought salad dressings. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a bottle without them. Beyond avoiding unnecessary additives, homemade salad dressings also taste infinitely better.

It’s highly likely that you already have everything you need to make your own salad dressing, and whipping up a vinaigrette takes less than two minutes. Plus, it’ll save you money in the long term because you won’t be spending $4 each time you want a new batch of dressing.

My mom is a skilled home cook, and I grew up watching her build vinaigrette from scratch every week. I recently learned that one of my favorite professional chefs — a name you’re probably familiar with — Giada de Laurentiis — has a go-to vinaigrette that’s almost identical to the one my mom makes. And I can confirm it’s the kind of easy condiment you should always have in your kitchen.

How to make Giada’s go-to vinaigrette

For the base of her vinaigrette, Giada uses apple cider vinegar and olive oil. You could swap out the vinegar if desired — just use whatever you have on hand — but the chef and restaurateur emphasizes that you need to use a good-quality olive oil. She recommends using “extra virgin olive oil in a dark container,” which helps protect the oil from oxidation.

Giada pours roughly two parts vinegar and one part olive oil into a Mason jar. (If you want to switch up the ratios of vinegar and oil, feel free! Some people use equal parts of both or the inverse of Giada’s recipe.) The chef adds a touch of Dijon mustard, which she says “helps thicken the dressing.” In addition to helping emulsify the vinaigrette, Giada points out that Dijon contributes a “wine depth and richness.”

Related: Giada De Laurentiis’ 4-Ingredient Marinade Makes Grilled Chicken Taste Like Summer

The only other requirements for the Food Network star’s dressing are “a little bit of sweetness” — Giada opts for a squirt of honey, though a touch of maple syrup would work well too — and salt. The chef notes that she’s using the Lemon and Oregano Salt from her brand, Giadzy, but regular kosher salt would be perfectly fine. If you have fresh lemons or oregano on hand, fresh zest or chopped leaves would make excellent additions.

To emulsify her vinaigrette, Giada uses the same method as my mom: She screws the Mason jar lid on tightly and shakes it until the dressing is homogeneous. This strategy is easier than whisking by hand, and you can store the vinaigrette directly in the jar in your fridge. Each time you need to use it, just shake the container again to recombine the dressing.

Giada explains that she makes this vinaigrette once a week, storing it in the fridge and drizzling it over dishes as needed. It isn’t limited to green salads, either. If you want to eat like Giada, she reports, “I toss grilled vegetables in it. I also pour it over potatoes or a baked potato… If you wanted some rice, a lot of different things, because this just adds so much flavor. You could even put it over grilled chicken or fish.” That means this might be the best time of year to start whipping up your own dressing, when vibrant salads and grilled proteins are on constant rotation.

Read the original article on Food & Wine