Peach Poppy Seed Vinaigrette

I do love a good fresh salad, especially in the summertime. I am posting this salad mostly to showcase the scrumptious peach salad dressing. I have fallen in love with creating my own dressings. It’s a lot like potion-making. You just add ‘a little bit of this and a little bit of that’ until you have a perfectly balanced brew.

A basic vinaigrette is one part vinegar (or lemon juice) to three parts oil emulsified into a dressing. What is ’emulsifying’? Vinegar and oil don’t want to be together. If you just threw oil and vinegar onto a salad without whisking them first, the salad would just be a flavorless oily mess. Emulsifying a vinaigrette means to whisk the vinegar and oil vigorously until they become uniform. Most vinaigrettes also contain an extra ingredient to help keep the oil and vinegar together. This recipe uses honey as both a sweetener and an emulsifier. Lets get started!

Ingredients:

• 1 TBSP apple cider vinegar
• pinch of salt
• 1 TBSP orange juice
• 2 1/2 TBSP honey
• 3 TBSP olive oil
• 1 peach
• pinch of salt
• 1 TBSP poppy seeds

(If you’re wondering what’s in the salad, it’s spring mix greens, bacon bits, candied walnuts, strawberries, seared peaches, chicken and feta cheese).

Instructions:

1. Add the vinegar and salt to a blender and mix well.
2. Add the orange juice, honey, and olive oil to the blender and mix again.
3. Add the peach and blend until the dressing becomes a smooth mixture. If the dressing tastes too acidic, add a little extra oil and honey.
4. Add the poppy seeds and enjoy.