Basil Vinaigrette

This simple and delicious basil vinaigrette is wonderful as a salad dressing or drizzled on top of vegetables, chicken, seafood, pasta, and steak.  

I had a bag of fresh basil in the refrigerator that was about to go bad and I was thinking about making some pesto with it but then I stumbled upon this recipe for a basil vinaigrette on The Mediterranean Dish that sounded tasty. I thought it was interesting that the recipe has you blanch the basil before making the vinaigrette to preserve the bright green color and so I decided to give it a try. This delicious basil vinaigrette was simple to make and tasted so fresh, tangy, and flavorful drizzled on top of a simple salad.

 How to Make Basil Vinaigrette

Place a bowl filled with ice cubes & cold water next to the stove.

Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the basil leaves and blanch for 5-10 seconds then remove the leaves with a slotted spoon and place them directly into the prepared ice water. Remove the basil leaves from the ice water and place them on some paper towels. Roll up and squeeze out the excess water.

Combine the blanched basil leaves, olive oil, white balsamic vinegar, lime juice, shallot, garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, sea salt, and freshly cracked pepper, to taste in a high-powered blender and blend for 60 seconds until very smooth. Side Note: You can also use an immersion blender or food processor.

Drizzle on top of your salad or protein of choice and serve immediately. Enjoy.

Basil Vinaigrette

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Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes minutes

Course: Condiment

Cuisine: American

Author: Adapted by Pam - For the Love of Cooking / Original by The Mediterranean Dish

Equipment

• Small Saucepan
• Blender, Immersion Blender, or Food Processor

Ingredients

• 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
• ½ cup good olive oil
• 2 tbsp white balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1 small shallot, diced
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
• Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste

Instructions

• Place a bowl filled with ice cubes & cold water next to the stove. 
• Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the basil leaves and blanch for 5-10 seconds then remove the leaves with a slotted spoon and place them directly into the prepared ice water.
• Remove the basil leaves from the ice water and place them on some paper towels. Roll up and squeeze out the excess water. 
• Combine the blanched basil leaves, olive oil, white balsamic vinegar, lime juice, shallot, garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, sea salt, and freshly cracked pepper, to taste in a high-powered blender and blend for 60 seconds until very smooth. Side Note: You can also use an immersion blender or food processor.
• Drizzle on top of your salad or protein of choice and serve immediately. Enjoy.  

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