This traditional Italian salad dressing is one of my go to recipes and can be made in 5 minutes. It gets its traditional tang from a mix of red wine vinegar and lemon juice. I love this dressing on a salad with baby spinach or arugula, tomato, cucumber, red pepper, goat cheese and nuts (sesame, walnuts, almonds all work well). This dressing will last a few weeks refrigerated, but the quicker you use it, the better the taste!
Here are a few more salad ideas for this dressing:
Cucumber and tomato salad: Super simple salad, but incredibly tasty especially in the summer when the tomatoes are at their ripest. You can also add slices of mozzarella for added delight.
Chickpea and avocado: A cup of chickpeas, an avocado, shredded carrots, Tangy Italian Salad Dressing and you have yourself a quick, tasty salad!
Here are a few other ideas for this dressing:
The Italian Sandwich: Cut a grinder roll in half and add: provolone cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, pickles, banana peppers, prosciutto (optional if you want to make it vegetarian). Douse with Tangy Italian Salad Dressing. Serve immediately!
Marinade: This makes an amazing marinade for meat, chicken or portobello mushrooms. I place whatever I am marinating in a Ziploc bag and add about a 1/4 cup or more of dressing in each bag. Squeeze the contents to get the marinade spread throughout. I like to marinate for at least an hour, but up to 8 hours is preferred. When I am grilling the portobello mushrooms I pour the extra marinade onto the mushrooms to keep them moist.
Soups and Stews: Whenever I make a soup or stew I usually add all the same ingredients that are in this dressing so why not just add the dressing! I would add about a 1/4 cup of dressing to a large soup. You can always add more if needed.
Tangy Italian Salad Dressing
Ingredients
- 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic cloves, pressed through garlic press
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp oregano, dried
- 1/2 tsp basil, dried
- 1 lemon juice
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a jar, cover and shake well.
- Use immediately and/or store in fridge.
Nutrition
About the Author: Bill Bradley, R.D.
I had to add a bit more oil and about 2 tsp. of sugar just to even out the tartness. It was wonderful and we all enjoyed it- it tastes very much like a good Mediterranean dressing at restaurants. It will be a regular in our dressing rotation- thank you!
What is 1 lemon juice?
One what?
Hi Jackie, It is the juice of 1 lemon.