Cookaholics Bulletin Board

Here's a slightly different, and simpler one:

2 Tbs lemon juice
2 Tbs red wine vinegar
1/2 cup Kalamata olive oil
1/2 tsp salt (plus more to taste)
Dill, 1 Tbs minced fresh or 1 tsp dried
Parsley, 2 Tbs minced fresh

Beat all of the above together with a whisk. Let sit for the flavors to blend for 15 to 30 minutes. Taste and add a little more salt if it seems too tart. Whisk again before tossing with salad.

I've also made the above using 1/4 cup Meyer lemon juice and no vinegar.

Barry,

I had a Greek Salad at a Greek diner Friday night, and while I was not able to deconstruct the dressing by swabbing it up with bread, I was struck by how similar the basic vinaigrette was to a local family style Italian restaurant and have come to some conclusions.

1. The dressing is made by the gallon so I doubt that moderately priced restaurants are using high end Extra Virgin Olive Oil to make it..

2. They are not nearly as acidic as dressings I make a home and have a flavor that is mild enough not to ruin the salad if they are overdressed to the point where puddles of dressing are left in the plate when all the fixings are gone.

The low acidity and the lack of the distinctive flavor of olive oil leads me to believe that acid- whether it is red wine vinegar, lemon juice or a combination- are diluted with water to lower the acidity of the finished dressing. The same thing could be achieved by simply using more oil, but water is slightly less expensive.

I did not have any red wine vinegar to test it so I used Apple cider vinegar.

1 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
1 Tablespoon Water
¼ teaspoon mustard powder
½ of a small clove of garlic grated
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon oregano
3 Tablespoons Canola or Vegetable Oil
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil.

Whisk mustard, garlic, salt, and oregano into vinegar and water. Slowly add oil mixture while whisking.

My test dressing came out a bit too salty and with a pronounced garlic flavor. Perhaps garlic powder and less salt are called for, but I think I am on the right track for reproducing diner salad dressing. It does not have the pucker power of a classic 1:3 or vinaigrette and acts like it wants to be added salad greens in copious quantities. I am going to try it on a salad tonight to see if salt and garlic flavors come into line.

Wow Jim, I love a scientist and your on your way I couldn't have figured out any of that. In fact when reverse engineering some recipes, the main ingredients come easy but getting the spices right is almost impossible for me. So you do a whole lot better than I. Finishing up soups I decided to make, I am thinking tomorrow will be a salad day and give some of the things I learned from this thread a try.

Thanks,
Barry

Becca, I just made your Greek salad dressing. It is a step up from where I was but it isn't right but I think if I play with the balance it might come out closer to what we like. The garlic is overpowering, so I added more olive brine and a little more Red Wine Vinegar that did tame the garlic a little. It made quite a lot which is nice, I used my Ninja Food Processor not a blender which is so much harder to clean and it came out creamy. I am not all that good at balancing flavors so not sure how this will all play out, but it definitely is on the right track.

Barry

Becca - also made this yesterday before noon to let it meld for the evening meal - QUITE WONDERFUL!

For ease of replication or alteration I recordeded that I used 56 grams of sheep feta to equal 1/3 cup, 63 grams of green Greek olives (Ionian) (7), and 12 grams of garlic. I processed it in a 2 cup KA blender for 90 seconds so that it was very smooth and I note that it did not separate overnight in the fridge.

We loved the high note that the olive oil plays in this and felt that all of the ingredients were well balanced. We will be serving this to guests very soon! Thanks.

P.S. Just to maintain its 'authenticity' ( ) I used Greek sheep feta and Greek EVOO imported by a local Greek living in here the frozen tundra from his old farmstead in Kalamata, Greece.

Wow Wino, that is encouraging. I think next time a little less garlic for our taste and it might just be close enough to claim victory. I am never going to be able to replicate the one from Brothers Pizza, it had to be the best Greek Dressing in the world, at least I haven't had anything that has come even close. For the moment thanks Becca, I think this will do the trick and maybe eventually balance it off for our taste. Wino, make sure your guests like garlic, I don't know how much 63 gms is, it might already be less than I used, doing things by weight can be an advantage and make it very replicable.

Thanks,
Barry

Barry - 63 grams of garlic is a lot. You might start with half or less as it is obviously easy to add more - - - but damn tuff pickin' the little critters out

As for my guests - THEY'VE BEEN TRAINED