Fresh Basil Vinaigrette

This Basil Vinaigrette is a salad dressing made with fresh basil. The bright flavour of basil is a wonderful way to lift any salad, roasted vegetables, or to drizzle over grilled meats and seafood for a touch of summer! Used in the Broccoli Wedge Salad JB published today.

I do love a pesto, but sometimes it’s richer than what I what I’m after, especially if I want to dress a light salad. This basil dressing is a great alternative that’s full of the lovely basil flavour we all love in pesto, with a heck of a lot less oil! There is no parmesan or pine nuts, so it’s got a much fresher, brighter basil flavour.

It’s actually the dressing used in JB’s Broccoli Wedge Salad that he published today, except he internationally made his a little thicker so it’s a bit more of a dollop-type sauce made to cling to the broccoli florets. This recipe is an all-rounder you can use to drizzle over leafy salads, roasted vegetables, or swish over a plate to serve with grilled chicken, fish or prawns.

What you need for Fresh Basil Vinaigrette

Here’s what you need to make this. Note – the sprigs of basil below are a little misleading! You need a nice generous bunch – we need a good amount of basil for good basil flavour!

Fresh basil vinaigrette (dressing) -Ingredients

Fresh basil – A nice big bunch of fresh basil.
Ice cube – This is a little trick to keep the dressing green, as the cold helps stop the basil from heating up and turning brown as it blends. It stays green for a couple of days in the fridge – unlike pesto which starts turning brown the moment you finish blending it!
Extra virgin olive oil – Use a decent one, as it adds flavour into the dressing.
Apple cider vinegar – Or white wine vinegar or red wine vinegar. Lemon juice is also an option but use a little less as it’s a bit sharper.
Garlic – Just a small clove, else the raw garlic will be too harsh.
Dijon mustard – This helps keep the dressing from splitting, as well as adding a touch of flavour.
Salt and pepper – For seasoning.

How to make Fresh Basil Vinaigrette

Just stick everything in a jug and blitz until smooth. How easy is that!

Note: For a food processor, you’d have to use a mini one for the amount of dressing this recipe makes. It should work in a blender but I find it a pain to scrape things out of blenders, you lose so much! Though handy if you scaling up.

What to use Fresh Basil Vinaigrette for

This is first and foremost intended to be a salad dressing for tossing through leafy salads like a good ole’ Garden Salad. But it’s also wonderful with roasted vegetables with the freshness of the basil flavour cutting through their sweet, caramelised edges – I’m thinking cauliflower, eggplant or carrots (the green against the orange would be lovely!). Oh, and of course broccoli, like in the Broccoli Wedge Salad JB shared today – photo at the top of this post and below.

I also think it would be a lovely accent flavour for simple grilled chicken, steak, fish or prawns. You could just cook them with salt and pepper in olive oil, then drizzle over this Basil Vinaigrette for an extra touch.

Love to know what you’d use it for – share in the comments so we can all get inspired! – Nagi x