Raspberry Mint Vinaigrette

Once upon a time, I used to buy salad dressing in stores. But a few years ago, I realized how easy it is to make a vinaigrette at home. The greatest part of it for me is that I’m not committed to a single salad dressing until I finish the bottle. One night I’ll use a balsamic vinegar base and the next night I can go Asian with a rice wine vinegar base.  There are also some health benefits to making your own vinaigrette. (I’m not judging you for your store-bought salad dressing, promise. Even as I’m extolling the virtues of making my own, I still have a bottle of one of my faves – Trader Joe’s Sweet Onion & Bacon Vinaigrette – in the fridge. And don’t even get me started on their Champagne Vinaigrette – yummmmm! I’m just pointing out another good reason to try making your own!) Salad dressings are notorious for having significant amounts of salt and sugar. When you make your own, you control those levels! And obviously, you’re not adding any preservatives or anything to make it shelf stable. Since I’ve been playing around with making my own dressings, I’ve learned (or maybe just confirmed) one thing. I love vinegar! Standard vinaigrette recipes call for 3-4 parts oil to one part vinegar – I generally use less oil for each part vinegar. I hope you enjoy it my way! We used this raspberry mint vinaigrette tonight over a shaved vegetable salad, and it was delicious!

Raspberry Mint Vinaigrette

Ingredients: 

• 1/2 cup raspberries
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1/2 tsp honey
• 5 large mint leaves, chopped
• 3 turns fresh ground black pepper

Instructions: 

1. Puree the raspberries.
2. Whisk together the pureed berries with the rest of the ingredients. {It’s that easy.}

Makes ~3/4 cup of dressing