Blood Orange Vinaigrette
From The Kitchen · a prep-ahead staple
This is the dressing that makes the blood orange salad sing, but it is lovely on any winter greens, over roasted beets, or spooned onto grilled fish. When blood oranges are in season, I keep a jar in the door of the refrigerator.
Scaled from the original recipe, sizing up or down is proportional, so taste and adjust the salt, acid & spice.
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp fresh blood orange juice (or Sumo, Cara Cara, or any sweet orange)
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice (or white wine vinegar)
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp honey (optional)
- 1 small shallot, finely minced
- 6 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- Sea salt & pepper
Method
- Whisk the blood orange juice, lemon juice, Dijon, honey and shallot together in a small bowl.
- Slowly whisk in the olive oil until the dressing comes together and thickens slightly.
- Season with salt and pepper, and taste, add a little more honey if the oranges are very tart.
Storage: Keeps 4–5 days in the refrigerator; whisk or shake before using.
No blood oranges? They're a winter fruit (December–April). Out of season, or if you simply prefer them, a Sumo, Cara Cara, or navel orange is delicious here too: a little sweeter, a little less tart.
Gina's tip
Let the minced shallot sit in the citrus for five minutes before you add the oil, it softens the bite and melts into the dressing.
A good vinaigrette is roughly three parts oil to one part acid, loosened to taste. Once you have that ratio, you can build any dressing from whatever is in season.
I hope this recipe finds a place in your kitchen as it has in mine. Enjoy!
Gina