Working up a salad

Basic French Vinaigrette
A vinaigrette is essentially a French dressing with three parts oil and one part vinegar in most cases that compose a dressing, which has the necessary grease to it and a touch of the ascorbic. Since the 19th century this has been known as the French style of dressing a salad and please feel free to make your own additions to this familiar tasting dressing.
Ingredients:
1 tsp onions, finely diced (can use spring onions)
½ tsp mixed herbs (coriander, mint, fresh Thai basil)
Juice of one large lemon or three tbsp white-wine vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Method:
Whisk together onions, herbs, lemon juice, mustard and salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle in olive oil, whisking constantly to let all the tastes merge with each other. You can store it in the refrigerator for up to a week and use it dressing for a number of combinations.
Serving:
Drizzle over a bowl of lettuce, with diced carrots, tomatoes, olives, capsicum or jalapenos and boiled potatoes

Thai Peanut Dressing
Peanuts in any dressing add a distinct heaviness to it, which is thankfully very healthy sans the guilt of consuming something fattening. The Thais love their vegetables and along with an expansive variety of vegetables they also have a popular dressing, which can be consumed anywhere, anytime of the year!
Ingredients:
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
4 tbsp creamy peanut mash (roast about 200g peanuts then make a paste of them)
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tbsp honey
4 tbsp water
Method:
Blend the ginger, peanut mash, lemon juice, soy sauce, fish sauce, honey and water until smooth and creamy. You can make it alternately thicker by adding less water to go with certain dishes. Store in the refrigerator for about two weeks.
Serving:
Use the thicker form of the dressing for grilled meat skewers, while serve the slightly watery one as a dip with chopped raw vegetables and even potato wedges.

Thousand Island Dressing
Thought to have been named after the one thousand islands between the United States and Canada, in the St. Lawrence river, the origins of this recipe are not clear yet it has been attributed to the popular chef at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in 1894 and later to the chef at the Theo Rooms of the Blackstone Hotel in Chicago. The dressing has many variations to it but almost all have mayonnaise so this once, I shall make this exception and go for the original recipe.
Ingredients:
½ cup mayonnaise
2 tbsp tomato puree
2 tbsp 'aam shotto' or mango preserve
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp freshly ground pepper
Method:
Combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl. Dressing can be covered and refrigerated for up to one week.
Serving:
This dressing goes well with almost anything, even a bit of measly lettuce but please note that too much mayonnaise can never be a good thing so consuming in moderation is always the best bet!

Apple vinaigrette
A personal take on the classic French and Italian vinaigrettes, I have added a touch of something fruity to make it more refreshing.  You may substitute the lemon juice with juice of a fresh orange.
Ingredients:
½ cup olive oil
1 tsp rosemary and dill
2 tbsp lemon juice or vinegar
½ cup Apple pulp (crushed apple)
Salt and pepper
Method:
Whisk the olive oil, with the vinegar/lemon juice and spices. Towards the end, just spoon in the apple pulp and fold the olive oil mix around it. Refrigerate it but consume it within the day as apples tend to let off an acidic taste and also turn brown.
Serving:
Serve it with boiled vegetables as the mix of fruity with a boiled vegetables goes surprisingly well. You may also consume it with boiled eggs to give it that special flavour.

Cucumber Yoghurt Dressing with Mint
Tzatziki is a classic Greek dip, which also has a similar recipe to the Turkish Cacik. It is popularly consumed in the Caucasian mountain region where its unique taste goes well with the weather. The lightness of a yoghurt along with the subtle tastes of the dill and parsley used and the freshness of the olives makes it a refreshing dip.  
Ingredients:
1 cup chopped cucumber
2 tbsp lemon juice
½ cup hung yoghurt (or just the watery part of yoghurt squeezed out)
2 tbsp chopped fresh mint
2 tbsp chopped spring onions
Freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste
Optional: Add a clove of crushed garlic, a dash of red chilli, or 1 teaspoon diced onions. Blend cucumber, lemon juice and yoghurt together in until smooth. Add chopped mint, salt and pepper and mix it well. Adjust seasonings to taste, adding minced garlic, onions or chilli to add more zing to your dip.
Serving:
Tzatziki is always best with meat based dishes so kebabs or used for grilled meats is an ideal match. It can even be served simply with raw vegetables cut into wedges as a healthy snack.

Photo: Collected