News and Reviews

By celebrity chef Rozanne Stevens.

With the heat wave we have had across Europe this summer, the sales of salad vegetables have sky rocketed as 80 million people cool off with crunchy salads. But could your salad dressing be undoing all the good of eating your greens?

A throwback from the eighties, low fat and fat free salad dressings are still very popular with weight conscious consumers. One of the issues that I have with these dressings is that they often contain large quantities of sugar. Sugar is what we call an anti nutrient which has zero nutritional value and will actually leech nutrients from the body. With the increase in Type 2 Diabetes, this so called ‘health’ product will only add to the problem. Many shop bought dressings also contain preservatives and additives that are just not desirable. Dressing should simply be oil, vinegar and seasonings, not a long list of unrecognisable ingredients.

Fat free salad dressings will also retard the absorption of nutrients by the body. The reason being that antioxidants found in your salad vegetables such as carotenoids, lutein and lycopene found in carrots, spinach,lettuce and tomatoes, need fat in order to be absorbed by the body. In a US study, one study group used a fat free salad dressing or none at all. The second study group added an oil based dressing to their salad. The group consuming the oil based dressing absorbed significant amounts of antioxidants, while the fat free or no dressing group absorbed very little.

But this isn’t an excuse to drench your salad in mayonnaise or Caesar salad dressing. There are plenty of highly beneficial plant oils that make delicious dressings. And please do make your own, there is no reason to buy bottles of dressings. Salad dressing is so simple to make and means you can vary the flavours and seasonings according to the salad.

I have a collection of different oils and vinegars that I use for dressings. I have written extensively about rapeseed oil, which is a wonderful nutty golden oil which is also produced in Ireland. Some of my other favourites are avocado oil and walnut oil. Team these with raspberry vinegar, cider vinegar and balsamic vinegar and you’ll have a unique dressing for every salad.

To demystify making a salad dressing, lets go back to basics. Take a clean screw top jam jar. Fill with 1 part acid (any vinegar or lemon juice) and 2 parts of the oil of your choice. Season with a little salt and pepper and a flavouring of your choice (Dijon or wholegrain mustard, honey,dried herbs). Give it a good shake and taste. If it’s too acidic, add more oil. And visa versa. Adjust the seasoning. It will depend on the brand of vinegar and viscosity of the oil. It might be easier to taste the dressing with a bit of lettuce rather than straight off the spoon. You can now keep the dressing in the fridge. Depending on the oil, it might solidify slightly, but just give it a good stir. Just a note, if you want a garlicky flavour, leave a whole clove of garlic in the dressing for an hour and then remove. Fresh herbs are not advisable as they turn black in the acid of the vinegar. Rather use dried herbs or add lots of lovely fresh herbs to the salad itself.

Some Combinations To Try:

- Organic Walnut oil, lemon juice,Dijon mustard, honey, salt and pepper

- Organic Avocado oil and raspberry vinegar, salt and pepper

- Organic Olive oil, balsamic vinegar, wholegrain mustard, honey, salt and pepper

- Organic Sunflower oil, cider vinegar, few drops Worstershire sauce, honey, salt and pepper

- Organic Rapeseed oil,cider vinegar, pinch of dried herbs, garlic clove, salt and pepper

Organic Mango Chilli Salad

Serves 4

- 1 large organic mango, peeled and diced
- 225g baby spinach, washed and dried
- 1 yellow pepper, seeded and finely diced
- 250g cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 bunch spring onions, finely chopped
- 2tbls fresh coriander, chopped

Dressing:

- 1 red chilli, seeded and diced
- 1tsp honey
- 2tbls balsamic vinegar
- 4tbls rapeseed oil
- Salt and pepper

Method:

1. Mix the dressing and check for seasoning. Set aside.
2. Mix the spinach, mango, peppers, spring onion, tomatoes and coriander.
3. Toss with the dressing just before serving.

Visit: www.rozannestevens.com

Posted by

Darren

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