Fresh Basil Vinaigrette Recipe

This Basil Vinaigrette recipe is like a taste of summertime. The light, tangy flavor brims with the sunny freshness of basil.

"What's in this? This is interesting."

That was my husband's reaction when he tasted a salad dressed with this easy Basil Vinaigrette. It was a simple mix of baby greens (one bag for $1 at the farmers market today -- just enough for one dinner) and the vinaigrette. I skipped the cheese and ignored the croutons and just did an ultra-simple salad. And it worked, or I thought it did.

Of course, upon hearing interesting, my mind raced to all sorts of unfavorable places, as minds are wont to do. Did that mean it was simply vile? Gross? Missing some key component? Did my mix of sweet and savory with a hearty dose of basil just spell major F-A-I-L? Would I be totally screwed on my plan of blogging this dressing tonight?

I pretty much had declared a culinary disaster in my head. Words like interesting, unusual, different ... they will all do that. These words don't exactly speak volumes about greatness. I would much rather be told something is good, delicious or amazing.

Fortunately, he went on to tell me that it was "very basil-y, which is good" and had a slight bit of sweetness (yes, it does), which was good too. The flavor is light, but brimming with the sunny freshness of basil. The vinegar and garlic complement the flavors, lending tang and a touch of bite to the dressing. For me, I could totally imagine eating a salad with this basil vinaigrette while digging my toes into warm sand at the beach. It just has summer written all over it.

I wouldn't be sharing this delightful dressing if it wasn't great and well-worth the effort and ingredients to make. So, rest assured, if you are seeking a dynamite basil vinaigrette, you've come to the right place.

If you plan to make this, you should know that it takes minutes to whip up, has a light, breezy, fresh basil flavor and stores in a fridge for a few days if you don't use it all at once. I recommend using it on fresh tomatoes, greens, grilled chicken or whatever else you love vinaigrette on.

Turns out, for my husband, that actually wasn't a bad interesting -- he liked it. Can interesting be something good? I guess so. But he also had one request: next time, don't skip the homemade croutons and a sprinkling of cheese. I suppose that isn't too much to ask — though I was fine without them.

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Yield: 8 servings

Fresh Basil Vinaigrette

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

This salad dressing is like a taste of summertime. The light flavor is brimming with the sunny freshness of basil while vinegar and garlic give it a touch of tang and bite.

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Ingredients

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• 1 cup packed fresh basil leaves
• 2 cloves garlic
• ⅓ cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoon honey
• salt and pepper, to taste
• ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

1. Combine the basil, garlic, apple cider vinegar, honey, salt and pepper in the bowl of a food processor and process until everything is mixed up and chopped into tiny bits. While the food processor is running, slowly drizzle the olive oil into the mixture and process until emulsified.
2. Use this to dress a salad immediately, or transfer to an air-tight container and keep in the fridge for up to a week.