For years, I’ve loved the bright, fresh, snap of flavor I could only get in the shredded lettuce salads served in my favorite, family-owned Mexican restaurants.
Duplicating the dressing however, proved elusive and my attempts were, as they say, “close, but no cigar.”
Then, one day I was without my usual red wine vinegar, so I used some seasoned rice wine vinegar to flavor my half of avocado.
Eureka!
Accidentally, it was the closest I had come to capturing the herby tang I was hankering after. All it needed was less edge and a deeper flavor.
I’m not talking about the cumin/lime combo of flavors that many chain restaurants use for their salad dressings (also delicious), but rather, the oregano ‘hit’ that small, authentic restaurants in my area often prefer to offer.
After a bit of tinkering, I present to you Mexican Vinaigrette salad dressing — a truly refreshing counterpart to just about any Mexico-inspired meal. It also pairs well with left-over turkey and gravy for a ‘cut above’ lunch — just saying.
| Prep Time | 10 minutes |
| Passive Time | 3 hours |
| Servings |
1/4 cup servings
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- 1/2 cup, plus 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar not seasoned
- 1/4 cup grapeseed oil or other mildly flavored oil of choice
- 4 1/2 teaspoons clover honey
- 1 teaspoon crumbled dried basil leaves
- 1 teaspoon crumbled dried Mexican oregano
- 1 teaspoon Herbamare Original or other non-paprika based seasoned salt
- 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon (slightly rounded) xanthan gum optional, but dressing will have a thinner consistancy and dried herbs will not incorporate, but will instead, float on top of dressing
Ingredients
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- Place all ingredients in a screw top jar that will hold at least 8 ounces, shake vigorously and refrgerate several hours to allow flavors to meld.
- Shake well before serving. Use within 1 week.
Nutritional facts per serving:
142 calories
14g fat
360mg sodium
6g carbs
0.0g fiber
0.0g protein