Every salad needs a good vinaigrette, one that complements the other ingredients and makes the salad shine as a whole. It’s amazing what happens when you mix together a good quality olive oil with vinegar or lemon/lime juice and add seasonings or other ingredients like fruit. You get a delicious vinaigrette that’s perfect for topping salads or for use as a marinade. What’s more is that you avoid all the other additives that store-bought dressings have.
It’s easy to make your own vinaigrette or salad dressing. I have a basic tutorial you can follow if you want to learn how to make your own. But if you’re simply looking for a recipe for raspberry vinaigrette, keep reading.
I use frozen raspberries instead of fresh for this raspberry basil vinaigrette. Why? Mostly because everyone here loves fresh raspberries and they’re hard to keep around – but also because they provide a little more liquid for the vinaigrette. The bonus here is that frozen produce can be just as nutritious as fresh, and sometimes more nutritious.
Produce to be frozen is usually harvested when the fruit is ripe (when nutrient density is often at its highest) and then frozen soon after. Fresh produce, on the other hand, unless you pick it yourself, is often picked when the produce is still a little under ripe. After that it can be days until you buy it and eventually eat it. Everyday results in some nutrient loss. As a result, fresh supermarket produce usually isn’t any more nutritious than frozen produce.
So, go ahead and save those raspberries for eating – because they’re so good – and use the frozen raspberries for this Raspberry Basil Vinaigrette. Enjoy!
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Raspberry Basil Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp. lime juice juice from about 1 fresh lime
- 1 Tbsp. white balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 c. thawed frozen raspberries**
- 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil
- 1/8 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/8 tsp. Dijon mustard
- 1/4 tsp. onion powder
- 1 1/2 to 2 tsp. honey
- 3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a small bowl or jar.
- Using a hand blender, blend ingredients together until well mixed.
- Serve immediately or chill until ready to serve.