Charred Onion Vinaigrette

Charred Onion Vinaigrette

Sound fancy? Maybe, but it's also easy to do.

 First, make a basic vinaigrette:

Recipe for 1 cup of Vinaigrette
 

¼ Cup            Vinegar, lemon or lime juice

¾ Cup            Olive Oil or preferred salad oil

2 teaspoons        Dijon mustard

1 medium   Onion (or a bunch of scallions or fresh onions) charred and finely chopped

Salt to taste

There are 3 options for charring the onion:

• Throw it on the grill and turn frequently until it begins to blacken

• Slice onion into discs and throw the pieces onto a hot dry cast iron skillet and blacken

• Charr the onions under the broiler in the oven

I like to char the onions until they are roughly 80% blackened on the outside and completely cooked through on the inside with no sharp raw flavor left. Cool the onion and chop finely- - either by hand, or in a food processor

Making the vinaigrette;

First decide what type acid you want to use.  I like sherry vinegar, you might prefer lemon juice or maybe cider vinegar.

Next pick an oil, there are plenty of options, sunflower oil, extra virgin olive oil, light olive oil, etc.

Mix the charred onion, mustard, and acid component of choice either with a whisk in a bowl or in a food processor.

Drizzle in the oil and mix until the vinaigrette in blended well.

Season with salt to taste.

Finishing the vinaigrette:

Consider making extra charred onion if the flavor is not coming through you can add more to the vinaigrette.

Try adding some ground cumin or coriander and lemon zest to really make the flavors pop.

This vinaigrette will go great with all the greens we have this time of year.