Try This Homemade Walnut Vinaigrette Recipe

Looking for a fresh, flavorful salad that’s quick to prepare and bursting with nutrition? This walnut vinaigrette over wilted arugula salad is the perfect choice!

With its earthy flavors and peppery arugula, this dish makes for a delightful starter or a light meal. The combination of fresh ingredients offers a burst of flavor and delivers a wealth of nutrients, making it a guilt-free indulgence.

The star of this salad is the homemade walnut vinaigrette, which brings a rich, nutty flavor that perfectly complements the slight bitterness of wilted arugula. With just a few ingredients—such as toasted walnuts, good-quality olive oil, vinegar, and a touch of mustard—you can create a dressing that elevates the entire dish. The process of wilting the arugula slightly softens its leaves, allowing them to absorb the vinaigrette more effectively.

This wonderfully versatile recipe allows you to customize it with your favorite add-ins, such as roasted beets, goat cheese, or seasonal vegetables. Perfect for a quick lunch or an impressive dinner, this walnut vinaigrette over wilted arugula salad will become a staple in your culinary repertoire!

Arugula

Arugula is an aromatic salad green with a bitter, peppery taste. Also known as rocket or rucola, it can be eaten raw in salads, wilted like in this recipe, added to stir-fry, or made into pesto. I often add it to my red-leaf lettuce salads to spice them up a little.

I've adapted this recipe from one I found in my local newspaper, a great source for all kinds of seasonal recipes. Most papers have a food section once a week and often have a "rush hour" recipe or "30-minute" recipe that's a great source for busy cooks.

The New York Times has been publishing The New York Times Cookbook since 1961, and it is full of classic Craig Claiborne recipes.

What Is A Vinaigrette?

Vinaigrette, a classic dressing made from the harmonious blend of oil, vinegar, and seasonings, has been a culinary staple for centuries. Its versatility and simplicity make it a favorite among chefs and home cooks alike. The basic formula consists of three parts oil to one part vinegar, whisked together with salt, pepper, and often other flavorings like mustard, garlic, herbs, or shallots.

The oil in the vinaigrette serves as the primary emulsifier, binding the vinegar and other ingredients together into a cohesive mixture. Extra virgin olive oil is commonly used for its robust flavor, but other oils like walnut, avocado, or grapeseed can also be used to impart different nuances to the dressing. Vinegars range from the tangy bite of red or white wine vinegar to the sweetness of balsamic or the mellow acidity of cider vinegar, offering a spectrum of flavors to play with.

Walnut Oil

Walnut oil is a flavorful and aromatic oil extracted from walnuts, the seeds of the Juglans genus tree. This oil is prized for its rich, nutty flavor and delicate aroma, making it a popular choice for culinary and cosmetic purposes.

Raw walnuts are cold-pressed or expeller-pressed to extract the oil from the nuts to produce walnut oil. This gentle extraction process helps preserve the oil's natural flavor and nutritional properties. The resulting oil has a golden-brown color and a smooth, velvety texture.

Walnut oil is known for its distinctively nutty taste, which adds depth and richness to various dishes. It is commonly used as a finishing oil in salads, dressings, marinades, and sauces, where its subtle flavor can shine. Walnut oil is also used in baking and cooking, particularly in dishes whose nutty taste complements other ingredients, such as pastries, roasted vegetables, and grilled meats.

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