📍 Where this dish comes from: Paris · The Seine
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The fundamental French dressing — a perfectly balanced emulsion of Dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, and extra-virgin olive oil that has dressed French salads for centuries. Made properly, it is not merely a dressing but a sauce, and one of the most versatile preparations in the entire French culinary vocabulary.
What You’ll Need
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 140kcal
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 9 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (3:1 ratio oil to vinegar)
- 1 shallot very finely minced
- 1 small garlic clove minced
- Salt, freshly ground black pepper
- Optional: 1/2 tsp erythritol or a few drops of stevia to balance
- Fresh chives or tarragon
Instructions
- Place Dijon, vinegar, salt, pepper, shallot, and garlic in a bowl or jar.
- Whisk together until combined.
- Add olive oil in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly to create an emulsion.
- Taste and adjust: more vinegar for sharpness, more oil for mildness, more Dijon for body.
- Add a tiny amount of sweetener if the vinegar is very sharp.
- Dress salads immediately before serving — never let a dressed salad sit.
- Store remainder in a sealed jar. Re-shake before each use.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 140kcal | Fat: 15g
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Health Benefits
- Extra-virgin olive oil provides polyphenols that are more readily absorbed when emulsified into a dressing.
- Dijon mustard provides isothiocyanates, compounds studied for their role in the body’s detoxification enzyme activity.
- Red wine vinegar contains acetic acid, studied for its potential role in post-meal blood sugar response.