Fresh Basil Vinaigrette
Tomas Kauer - Moderator 
This Basil Vinaigrette is a salad dressing made with fresh basil. The bright flavour of basil is a wonderful way to lift any salad, roasted vegetables, or to drizzle over grilled meats and seafood for a touch of summer! Used in the Broccoli Wedge Salad JB published today.
Fresh Basil Vinaigrette
I do love a pesto, but sometimes it’s richer than what I what I’m after, especially if I want to dress a light salad. This basil dressing is a great alternative that’s full of the lovely basil flavour we all love in pesto, with a heck of a lot less oil! There is no parmesan or pine nuts, so it’s got a much fresher, brighter basil flavour.
It’s actually the dressing used in JB’s Broccoli Wedge Salad that he published today, except he internationally made his a little thicker so it’s a bit more of a dollop-type sauce made to cling to the broccoli florets. This recipe is an all-rounder you can use to drizzle over leafy salads, roasted vegetables, or swish over a plate to serve with grilled chicken, fish or prawns.
What you need for Fresh Basil Vinaigrette
Here’s what you need to make this. Note – the sprigs of basil below are a little misleading! You need a nice generous bunch – we need a good amount of basil for good basil flavour!
Fresh basil – A nice big bunch of fresh basil.
Ice cube – This is a little trick to keep the dressing green, as the cold helps stop the basil from heating up and turning brown as it blends. It stays green for a couple of days in the fridge – unlike pesto which starts turning brown the moment you finish blending it!
Extra virgin olive oil – Use a decent one, as it adds flavour into the dressing.
Apple cider vinegar – Or white wine vinegar or red wine vinegar. Lemon juice is also an option but use a little less as it’s a bit sharper.
Garlic – Just a small clove, else the raw garlic will be too harsh.
Dijon mustard – This helps keep the dressing from splitting, as well as adding a touch of flavour.
Salt and pepper – For seasoning.
How to make Fresh Basil Vinaigrette
Just stick everything in a jug and blitz until smooth. How easy is that!
Note: For a food processor, you’d have to use a mini one for the amount of dressing this recipe makes. It should work in a blender but I find it a pain to scrape things out of blenders, you lose so much! Though handy if you scaling up.
What to use Fresh Basil Vinaigrette for
This is first and foremost intended to be a salad dressing for tossing through leafy salads like a good ole’ Garden Salad. But it’s also wonderful with roasted vegetables with the freshness of the basil flavour cutting through their sweet, caramelised edges – I’m thinking cauliflower, eggplant or carrots (the green against the orange would be lovely!). Oh, and of course broccoli, like in the Broccoli Wedge Salad JB shared today – photo at the top of this post and below.
I also think it would be a lovely accent flavour for simple grilled chicken, steak, fish or prawns. You could just cook them with salt and pepper in olive oil, then drizzle over this Basil Vinaigrette for an extra touch.
Love to know what you’d use it for – share in the comments so we can all get inspired! – Nagi x
Fresh Basil Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 1 tightly packed cup basil leaves (press down firmly in a cup measure)
- 1/4 tsp finely grated garlic (just a bit else it's too harsh!)
- 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1/2 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt , halve for table salt, +50% for flakes
- 1 pinch ground white pepper or black pepper
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar (Note 1)
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 ice cube (~1 tbsp in size) , or 1 tbsp ice cold water (Note 2)
Instructions
Abbreviated Recipe
- Roast broccoli wedges at 160°C / 320°F (140°C fan-forced) for 20-25 min, let cool on tray for 10 min. Cook bacon 5 minutes until crispy, drain. Blitz vinaigrette ingredients until smooth. Layer broccoli, dressing, bacon and parmesan in two rounds on a serving plate. Finish with basil leaves.
Full Recipe
- Preheat oven to 160°C / 320°F (140°C fan-forced).
- Broccoli wedges – Trim off the base of the broccoli, keeping as much of the stem as you can. Use a small knife to cut off the tough outer skin of the stem. Cut the broccoli in half then each half into 4 wedges, being sure to cut through the thick centre stem so each wedge holds together.
- Roast broccoli – Place the wedges onto a large baking tray. Season each wedge with salt, olive oil and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until just cooked – it will soften more as it cools on the tray. Let cool on the tray for 10 minutes. (Note 5)
- Cook bacon – Heat a non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook for 5 minutes, stirring regularly until crispy. Strain the fat and set aside.
- Basil vinaigrette – Place all the vinaigrette ingredients in a tall, narrow container the blender stick fits into all the way to the base. Blitz until combined.
- Plate – Arrange half the broccoli on a large serving plate, then scatter over half the dressing, bacon and parmesan. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Sprinkle over basil leaves and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Life of Jaffle
Really Jaffle? Here? In Bunnings?
I’m also yet to figure out whether this is a strategy to avoid leaving somewhere (he does this at the dog park too) or a tummy scratch (he also does this at the dog park).
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