You are going to love the fresh, zesty taste of this creamy basil vinaigrette. I have been putting it on everything! If you have extra basil in your garden now, you are going to want to try this recipe out.
This quick and easy vinaigrette is not only used as a salad dressing, but it also could be used as a sauce for fish, chicken, potatoes, tomatoes, or BLTs!
The small basil plant that I bought and planted at the beginning of summer decided it was going to be an overachiever. When I say overachiever, the stalks grew from about a ⅛-inch thick into woody ½-inch stalks. The plant is up above my navel about 36-40 inches tall! If you don’t really understand lengths, check out this picture and use the car tire as a reference:
I fed the basil plant some plant food about a month ago and now it has produced so much fresh basil that I’m not sure exactly what to do with it all. Fall is in the air and it won’t be long until we have our first frost. I’ve given basil to some neighbors and even some coworkers and I have been testing different ways of trying to preserve fresh basil for the upcoming winter months.
David doesn’t really like basil all that much and neither one of us are pesto eaters. So far, my tests haven’t produced basil as fresh as it is off the plant. I’ve tried blanching and freezing the leaves directly, but they are too dark for my liking. I am beginning to think I may just have to dig this big boy up and plant him in a pot and bring him inside for the winter months like I do with José.
I’ll keep trying to figure out a way to preserve this basil as fresh and green as I can, but until I do one thing is for sure, this Creamy Basil Vinaigrette will help me make the best of this overachiever basil plant.
Let me tell you how to make it:
First, rinse and dry the basil leaves (a salad spinner works well).
Add the mustard, shallot, salt, honey, lemon juice and basil to a food processor or blender. Pulse several times, to combine. Scrape the sides of the blender down with a spatula. Add the vinegar and pulse again. With the food processor or blender running on low, slowly pour in the olive oil into through the cap in the center of the lid.
Once all of the olive oil has been blended in, turn off the processor or blender. Scrape the sides down again Add the mayonnaise, cover, and pulse again until the mayonnaise has also been fully incorporated into the dressing.
NOTES:
If you want to lighten this recipe up a bit, feel free to use some Greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise or light mayonnaise.
Store covered in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Believe it or not, I adapted this recipe from a recipe card I got eons ago from Burger King of all places! I can’t remember the last time I have ever eaten there. This recipe may be the best thing I have ever gotten from there.
The options for what to do with this vinaigrette are pretty unlimited. Tomorrow I’ll tell you what reptile this creamy basil vinaigrette good on! Stay tuned…
Creamy Basil Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 shallot chopped
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- ½ cup fresh basil leaves
- ¼ cup natural rice vinegar
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
Instructions
- Rinse and dry the basil leaves (a salad spinner works well).
- Place the salt, honey, mustard, shallot, and basil in a food processor or blender.
- Pulse several times, to combine.
- Scrape the sides of the blender down with a spatula. Add the vinegar and pulse again.
- With the food processor or blender running on low, slowly pour in the olive oil into through the cap in the center of the lid.
- Once all of the olive oil has been blended in, turn off the processor or blender. Scrape the sides down again Add the mayonnaise, cover, and pulse again until the mayonnaise has also been fully incorporated into the dressing.
dorannrule says
My basil plant is producing well this year but is nowhere near as big as yours. It suffered a trauma when they power washed our house. Still, I have a lot to harvest. I dry the leaves on splatter screens (the kind you use when making bacon) and then crumble and store them in plastic bags. I learned this from the experts at our local herb farm. They last all winter that way and can be thrown into soups and sauces etc. I do it with parsley and an herb called Lovage which I love. Thank you for this wonderful recipe and good luck with bringing your great basil plant inside for the winter. 🙂 ~Dor
The Mountain Kitchen says
Thanks for that tip, Dor! I hope I can get mine to stay alive if I dig it up. If you can believe this (Originally mentioned in my Jose Jalapeno post) I have a basil plant that I rooted from one of those refrigerator packs. I planted it last summer, brought it inside. It is still alive! Small but totally edible! 🙂
Annie says
This looks AMAZING. I want to try this stat!
The Mountain Kitchen says
Thanks. I love it! Let me know what you put it on! 🙂