Nora Ephron's Vinaigrette

Anyone who's read Nora Ephron's novella Heartburn will know what I'm talking about here. Her book is peppered with recipes that flow seamlessly from the main text of the story. A technique that has been emulated by many other writers, Ruby Tandoh and Dolly Alderton to name a couple. Both of whom are ardent and vocal fans of our queen Nora Ephron. Anyway, this blog post isn't ground breaking, there are millions of people who have written about Nora Ephron's Vinaigrette on the internet and I am here to join them. I make this almost daily at the moment- am I the only one who can't think beyond salad for lunch when it's hot? And when I do, I must say that I am not entirely faithful to Nora's recipe partially because I'm lazy and partially because very mild and low risk variety is the spice of life is it not. Here's Nora's recipe:

'I had gotten to the point where I simply could not make a bad vinaigrette, this was not exactly the stuff of drama. (Even now I cannot believe Mark would want to risk losing that vinaigrette – You just don’t bump into vinaigrette that good.)

Mix two tablespoons Grey Poupon mustard with two tablespoons good red wine vinegar. Then, whisking constantly with a fork, slowly add six tablespoons olive oil, until the vinaigrette is thick and creamy; this makes a very strong vinaigrette that’s perfect for salad greens like arugula and watercress and endive.'

And here's mine:

In an empty (clean!) jam jar, pour some olive oil- the nicest kind you have. Add to that a third of the amount of vinegar. The ratio here is 3 parts fat to 1 part acid. Sometimes I use red wine vinegar but usually I use cider vinegar or white wine because that's what there tends to be more of knocking about in my kitchen. Then, add mustard in proportion to 1) how much dressing you're making and 2) how much you like mustard. I usually add a couple big teaspoon to a salad that will be enough for 4 big helpings as a side. The mustard should be Dijon or wholegrain- not English or American. Dijon will make a creamier and thicker dressing. Then add a big pinch of flakey salt or a smaller pinch of grainy salt, put the lid on the jar and close tightly then shake hard for a moment or two- til you can hear the dressing thump in the jar if you have the energy. Otherwise just until its combined. Use immediately and store the remaining dressing, if there is any, in the fridge. If you don't use it immediately that's obviously fine, just make sure you shake again before you do use it. 

I made a nicoise salad the other day with a proper nicoise dressing which was delicious but it just took a lot longer than chucking a couple of things in a jar and whizzing them together. Then again, simpler still is owning a really amazing EVOO- sometimes they are so peppery and bitey that they're a good enough dressing on their own.