Zesty Sun-dried tomato vinaigrette

I guess I am on a salad dressing kick right now. This is the third dressing recipe I have posted in as many weeks.

This is a zesty sun-dried tomato vinaigrette. Another very easy dressing recipe with most things you probably already have on hand. But as always let's compare to a bottled version.

Ingredients: Water, Vinegar, Sugar, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Canola Oil, Soybean Oil, Sun Dried Tomatoes, Salt, Contains less than 2% of Parmesan and Romano Made From Cow's Milk Cheeses (Part-skim Milk, Cheese Culture, Salt, Enzymes), Garlic, Spice, Garlic*, Red Bell Peppers*, Xanthan Gum, Onions*, Lemon Juice Concentrate, Potassium Sorbate, Calcium Disodium Edta and Sulfites As Preservatives, Oleoresin Paprika. *Dried.

And here is a fat free version - even more scary

Ingredients: Corn Syrup, Vinegar, Maltodextrin, Water, Tomato (tomato paste, sun-dried tomato), Salt, Xanthan Gum, Spice, Potassium Sorbate and Calcium Disodium EDTA as Preservatives, Natural Flavor.

My  version:

8 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar
5 cloves garlic - minced
4 sun-dried tomato halves - reconstituted in oil* - minced
Salt and Pepper to taste






Add all ingredients together and whisk. That's all.

The five cloves of garlic are hat make it zesty. It has almost a bite to it. You can always decrease the amount, but then it won't have that kick.

Notes: To add some flavor to the sun-dried tomatoes, you can add herbs and spices to the oil as they are reconstituting. Herbs like basil, oregano, and parsley work well. I also add salt to the tomatoes so in my dressing I actually do not add any salt to the dressing itself. You can also buy them in oil, but then there will also be more ingredients.

And as you can see from the picture, it is a chunkier dressing. If you use a food processor, it may come out smoother.

This dressing works great on a simple salad like romaine lettuce, tomatoes and some shredded or shaved Parmesan.