Basil Balsamic Vinaigrette

Posted 9 Jan, 2011 in Condiments [ 3 Comments ]

I’ve been a bit lazy over the last week and I’ve been buying my lunch every day. Lucky for me, there is a cool salad bar near my work where you can make your own salad with a selection of greens, veggies, and dressing. My favorite dressing from there is the basil and olive oil dressing.

This recipe for Basil Balsamic Vinaigrette is a take on Jamie Oliver’s recipe. It’s not quite the same as the dressing from the salad bar as it contains balsamic vinegar. The balsamic vinegar gives it a nice tang while the fresh basil adds a different layer of flavor.

So in my lunch box for tomorrow is a salad made of red capsicum, grated carrots, red onion, avocado, baby spinach leaves, leftover roast beef, and of course the Basil Balsamic Vinaigrette.

To save time, I always make two salads at a time so that I don’t have to make lunch the next day. If you layer the salad in the lunch container with the meat and vegetables at the bottom and the spinach greens on the top, the salad will stay fresh for 2 days. I take the avocado and the dressing separately and add them to the salad just before eating. I also got a cheap piece of roast beef from the butcher and slow roasted it this morning in the dutch oven to use as salad meat for the week.

A little bit of planning will save me $50 this week which is what I would have spent buying my lunch.

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