Make Ahead Vinaigrette

 

This versatile dressing will stay emulsified for a week in your refrigerator, and you can use white wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, apple cider vinegar, or sherry vinegar, as you like. To keep the oil and vinegar from separating, we added mustard and mayonnaise, two natural emulsifiers. A little molasses stabilized the dressing and further prevented separation without lending a strong flavor. Cutting the olive oil with some vegetable oil ensured that our refrigerated dressing was always pourable.

 

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

1 tablespoon molasses

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

½ teaspoon table salt

¼ cup vinegar

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

¼ cup vegetable oil

 

Combine mayonnaise, molasses, mustard, and salt in 2-cup jar with tight-fitting lid. Stir with fork until mixture is milky in appearance and no lumps of mayonnaise or molasses remain. Add vinegar, seal jar, and shake until smooth, about 10 seconds. 2. Add ¼ cup olive oil, seal jar, and shake vigorously until combined, about 10 seconds. Repeat, adding remaining ¼ cup olive oil and vegetable oil in separate additions, shaking vigorously until combined after adding each and vinaigrette is glossy and lightly thickened, with no surface pools of oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. (Vinaigrette can be refrigerated for up to 1 week; shake briefly to recombine before using.)