The Best Homemade Salad Dressing Is Made With The Scraps On Your Cutting Board

A great dressing can transform even the most humble of salads into show-stopping culinary delights. When it comes to standout salad dressings, though, sometimes less is more, like a homemade vinaigrette. Homemade vinaigrette takes the flavor of your homemade salad to the next level and is so much quicker to make than a drive to the store, at least according to celebrity chef and cookbook author Ina Garten, who famously thinks you should make your own vinaigrette at home. For a simple homemade vinaigrette that's sure to impress, look no further than the leftover herb scraps on your cutting board. 

Using leftover herb stems in a homemade vinaigrette is a great way to reduce your food waste in the kitchen while also maximizing the flavor potential of your fresh herbs. Many have woody stems that are too sometimes too tough to bite into, and as such, they often end up in the trash. But despite their unappealing texture, they are chock full of flavorful essential oils, which makes them the perfect candidates for an infused herb vinegar, the base of this homemade vinaigrette. Because there are so many herbs to choose from, there are endless possibilities of herb stem vinaigrettes you can make. You can make a vinaigrette with cilantro stems that's perfect for a zesty Southwest salad, or a rosemary vinaigrette for a winter salad with kale and butternut squash. If you can dream it, you can do it, so long as you're feeling creative with your herbs.

To make an herb-stem vinaigrette at home, first grab a high-quality vinegar. Just like your herb stems, be mindful of the type of vinegar you select in relation to your salad. For example, a balsamic vinegar pairs well with basil stems for a caprese salad, but maybe not as well with mint stems for a fruit and feta salad. If you're unsure which type of vinegar to use, apple cider vinegar and white vinegar pair nicely with just about anything and won't impart any clashing flavors on your salad. Next, in a small jar, combine your herb stems and vinegar in a 1:15 ratio, and leave it to infuse for a few weeks in a cool, dark place. Once properly infused, strain the vinegar using a cheesecloth, removing all bits of herb stems in the process.

Now, to assemble the dressing. The classic method of vinaigrette preparation used a ratio of 3 parts fat (typically olive oil) to 1 part vinegar. Modern chefs have since created an updated vinaigrette formula with 2 parts olive oil and 1 part vinegar. This tangier formula packs an acidic punch and is the perfect way to showcase the flavors of your homemade herb stem-infused vinegar. To fully control the amount of dressing that goes on your salad, you can also make your vinaigrette in a squeeze bottle, with lines marking the sides of the container allowing you to make refills without needing to measure.