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Homemade Herb Vinaigrette Recipe
Nothing tastes better than fresh herbs! This homemade herb vinaigrette recipe features fresh parsley, oregano and basil. These herbs are blended with tangy red wine vinegar, spicy garlic and creamy extra-virgin olive oil for the perfect herb vinaigrette.
Fresh Herbs Only in This Vinaigrette Recipe!
In the summer, I like to grow a variety of herbs in my garden. Everything from basil, to dill, to sage, to oregano. I go after my summer garden with gusto. One might say too much gusto. Inevitably, I end up with a surplus of herbs and a need for recipes to utilize them. This fresh herb vinaigrette is one of those recipes. It features plenty of fresh homegrown basil, a touch of fresh parsley and a hint of fresh oregano. When added to fresh garden greens, vine ripened tomatoes and crunchy carrots – well, it tastes like summer in a bowl.
This vinaigrette recipe is simple, requiring only basic salad dressing ingredients like red wine vinegar and extra virgin olive oil to supplement the flavor of the herbs. I recommend thoroughly drying the herbs after washing them. The less water involved, the better. This helps the dressing stick to the salad ingredients making for a crisp, delicious bowl of greens.
Growing Your Own Herbs
As I mentioned, I like to grow my own herbs in my summer garden. Herbs like basil, parsley and oregano grow with ease in small pots. I start them in my greenhouse in the early spring months and stagger new plants so that I have fresh herbs throughout the summer. As for the winter? I don’t forego fresh herbs then either. I grow them in my kitchen in my Aerogarden Bounty. With the Aerogarden Grow Anything Seed Pods, I am able to grow my own seeds. This way, I am able to keep a rotation of fresh basil, mint, cilantro, dill and parsley going all winter long.
What’s in My Kitchen to Make This Homemade Herb Vinaigrette Recipe Even Easier
Want to know what tools and resources I keep on hand to make my vegan cooking even easier? Here’s a short list of what helped me create this blog post and recipe. For the complete list, visit my Shop where you can find the kitchen gadgets I like as well as a list of books that I recommend.
Premium Wood Cutting Board
Recently, I spent some time researching the best cutting boards. I’ve been a plastic cutting board believer for a long time. And, yes, you can put them in the dishwasher.
Wood cutting boards, though, are a healthier option. This board I found on Etsy is made of maple and walnut, both hardwoods. Hardwoods are fine-grained, offering up less deep cuts for bacteria to hide. They’re also “self-healing” in that, over time, the wood will partially repair itself over time. So, a well-cared for wood cutting board, even though it costs more at the outset, should last you a long time.
Cutting Board Soap
Speaking of wood cutting board care… this natural castile-based soap is free from animal products. Just another step in making your kitchen more sustainable! And it’s scented with rosemary and lavender oils, so it smells amazing too!
Food Grade Mineral Oil
And, after you clean your wood cutting board, be sure to treat it with food-grade mineral oil. Mineral oil will help prevent your cutting board from drying and cracking, thereby extending its useful life. I like this mineral oil because it exceeds FDA standards for food-grade mineral oil and it doesn’t contain any potential allergens, enabling you to use it without worry.
Mini Food Processor
There are a few tools in my kitchen that get used all the time and this mini 4-cup food processor is one of them. It’s perfect for sauces that don’t require me to bring out the big guns. Clean up is easy and it doesn’t take up much space.
A Really, Really Good Chef’s Knife
No, that’s not the brand. It’s just the idea! But, I own this set of Global™ knives and They’re some of my most prized possessions in the kitchen. This set is universally well-rated for the at-home chef and will get you a good, solid set of knives without totally breaking the bank.
Garlic Peeler
I only bought one of these a few months ago, but wow! I’m so much happier not peeling garlic cloves with my fingernails. I’m pretty sure I’ll collectively get at least a day of my life back because of this device.
Aerogarden Bounty
I bought this a few years ago and have success growing herbs and lettuces in it ever since. I love that it is mostly hands off — perfect for someone who has trouble keeping plants alive. I use my own seeds using the Grow Anything Seed Pods.
Aerogarden Grow Anything Seed Pods
These seed pods work with the Aerogarden Bounty – the indoor gardening center. I use these pods along with my own seeds to keep an indoor garden of fresh herbs going all year long.
Homemade Herb Vinaigrette Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 clove garlic roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh basil washed and thoroughly dried
- 1 tsp fresh oregano washed and thoroughly dried
- 1 tsp fresh parsley washed and thoroughly dried
- 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp pepper
- 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Combine the garlic, basil, oregano, parsley, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper into a mini food processor. Blend until smooth.
- Stir in the extra virgin olive oil. Store in a clean mason jar in the refrigerator.
About Herbivore’s Kitchen
Herbivore’s Kitchen is a blog run by me, a plant-based home chef and aspiring food photographer. I switched my and my family’s diet to a plant-based diet after learning about the health benefits of going vegan. Making this change has prompted a variety of food and holistic-lifestyle related questions that I explore through this blog. I talk about how to pick and prepare the most nutritious foods, to how to reduce waste at home, to how to live a more sustainable lifestyle while on the road.