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French Mother-in-Law’s Vinaigrette 🥗 My French in-laws eat the same salad everyday, usually at lunch and dinner. This is the method my MIL, Marie-Louise, uses to make her vinaigrette, which is pretty much the same recipeu002Fingredients you’d find anywhere in France or if you googled “French Vinaigrette”. This is our family’s favorite salad dressing, but I make it in batches to last for 3-4 salads. The recipe is below, but my MIL eyeballs it and basically uses a ratio of 3:1 oil to vinegar. She feels it’s very important to let salt, vinegar, and shallots “rest” at least 10 minutes to allow salt to dissolve and the shallots to pickle and soften their sharp bite. Once the oil is added the salt won’t dissolve so it’s important not to skip this step (I admit to skipping 😂). She cuts the olive oil with colza oil which is not really available in the US. It’s rapeseed oil, called canola here, but I don’t use canola (highly-refined, a GMO, and source of Omega-6 fats) so I use a little avocado oil, or usually just all olive oil. My MIL also dries her butter lettuce thoroughly, because oil and water don’t mix and your vinaigrette will not cling to wet salad greens. Mon dieu! • ½ a shallot, minced • 1 T red wine vinegar • About ½ t salt • 1 T Dijon mustard (Maille, Amora, or Trader Joe’s Dijon) or more to taste • 2-3 T extra virgin olive oil • 1 T avocado oil • Black pepper • Pinch of Piment d’Espelette (optional) • Fines herbes (chives, tarragon, parsley), minced (optional) Mix shallot, vinegar, and salt in your salad bowl. Let sit 10 minutes or so for salt to dissolve. Add mustard and stir. Stir in oils, then season with pepper and Piment d’Espelette, if using. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt, or oil if too sharp, vinegar if lacking tang. You’ll get the hang of it. Add minced herbs and stir. Enjoy!💖