Bobby Flay's Secret To Great Salad Dressing Involves Your Near-Empty Mustard

Take a look at what's in your refrigerator door. Odds are, there are condiments: Ketchup, mayonnaise, relish, and mustard. Maybe you've got some soy sauce and hot sauce, too. Or, perhaps your door is full of half-finished salad dressings you'll use once every few weeks. For some reason, salad dressings are an easy condiment to accidentally hoard, even though they only have a shelf life of anywhere between one and four months and should be consumed within that time frame. In an attempt to stop buying more — no matter how good that store-bought Italian dressing looks — we encourage you to start making your own from scratch using ingredients you've already got in your fridge. Celebrity chef Bobby Flay recommends using your near-empty mustard to create a delicious salad dressing that packs a real punch.

Not only will this hack help get you the most bang for your buck when it comes to Dijon mustard, but it will help you contribute to a zero-waste lifestyle since you're not buying a brand new container of salad dressing that will inevitably not be finished. To do it, as Flay instructs on Instagram in a joint post with Misfits Market, add finely diced shallots, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, extra-virgin olive oil, and a bit of honey to the jar of near-empty mustard. Shake it up in the jar to make sure all of the ingredients have been combined, and then give it a taste to see if it needs any adjusting before drizzling it on your favorite fresh chopped salad.

Dijon has a sweet undertone, and while its flavor can be a bit pungent, the oil and vinegar help disguise its intensity in all the right ways. Because the dressing is so balanced, there are a variety of different herbs that would make an excellent addition if you're looking to spice things up and add some added depth and color. Tarragon, fennel, dill, and parsley all have a subtle-but-complex flavor. If you choose to add any of these, make sure to finely mince them to ensure that every bite has an even distribution of the flavor.

If there aren't any herbs that get your interest, there are a few other ingredients that would go well with Flay's inventive Dijon vinaigrette. Instead of honey, you can try subbing it for maple syrup. While honey is a classic pairing with mustard, maple has a more complex flavor, and the two are often used interchangeably. And if you're out of red wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar is a good alternative. Apple cider vinegar possesses a sweetness red wine vinegar does not, which makes it a nice way to bring even more brightness to the yellow, sunshiney dressing.