Six healthy dressings for every type of salad
The other day I was musing on my late mother’s habit of smothering a plate of otherwise crisp and healthy salad ingredients with a bottled salad cream. With nearly as much sugar as fat, it rather drowned any virtuosity. Even foregoing sugary bottled salad dressings, it is all too easy to add a serious number of calories when dressing a salad without actually adding anything beneficial. For this reason as a nutritionist, I like to keep a little black book of healthy dressings to hand that will cover me for every type of salad, with a crafty eye at maxing the health benefits of the ingredients at the same time as providing allure and deliciousness.
These dressings range from being thin, light and zesty for coating a bowl of green leaves, to voluptuously thick and creamy for steamed and roasted vegetables. The key lies with using raw, unrefined and unprocessed ingredients, be it kefir, unpasteurised miso, cold-pressed oils, vinegar with the mother, and flavourings with proven health benefits such as garlic and turmeric root. But the unspoken hero is water, by thinning a dressing it goes that much further and you cut the energy.
Mustard dressing
Protects against inflammation (that is linked to chronic disorders), as well as reducing the risk of diabetes, cardiac disease and stroke
With half the saturated fat of extra virgin olive oil and being rich in unsaturated fatty acids (beneficial for diabetes and metabolic syndrome), cold-pressed rapeseed oil is a powerhouse of beneficial nutrients. Be sure to select cold-pressed oil, British brands excel and can be bought for half the price of an average olive oil that has recently soared in price.
Serves 6
20g Dijon mustard (eg Maille)
Sea salt
1/3 tsp honey
75ml cold-pressed rapeseed oil
1tsp raw cider vinegar
2tbsp water
Whisk all the ingredients until emulsified in a small bowl using a stick blender. Alternatively, combine the mustard, honey and salt, then gradually whisk in the oil using a small whisk until each addition is absorbed. Stir in the vinegar and then the water to thin it to a pouring consistency.
Use to dress any green leaves, chicories especially relish mustard as do cresses, and some finely sliced spring onions or snipped chives scattered over add savour.
Miso dressing
Supports gut health and aids digestion
This umami-rich dressing is one of my go-tos. Miso is a fermented paste and probiotic (be sure to look for unpasteurised) that is linked to aiding digestion and boosting immunity. There is also evidence to suggest it may protect against cancer, in particular breast cancer if it is eaten regularly. The longer fermented misos seem to have the greatest benefits, which tend to be dark in colour.
Serves 4
1tsp finely grated fresh ginger
30g unpasteurised miso, eg Clearspring
2tsp raw cider vinegar
2tbsp cold-pressed rapeseed oil
2tbsp water
Whisk all the ingredients for the dressing together in a medium bowl until emulsified using a stick blender or a small whisk.
Drizzle over a mixture of salad sprouts, rocket, radish and spring onion, which is great with cold chicken or prawns, or add some noodles.
Almond dressing
Helps reduce high blood pressure
This gorgeous thick dressing that relies on almonds is an excellent way of supporting your heart health and reducing blood pressure. With a high vitamin E content, it also supports your vision and is well known to be beneficial for our skin. Similar to a gado-gado dressing, it makes for a superlative Bang Bang chicken salad, usually made using peanuts. This is great spooned over any combination of noodles and vegetables (radishes, beansprouts, cucumber, mangetouts, green beans, asparagus, broccoli, courgettes, spring onions, chilli).
Serves 6
Check the small print on the nut butter, that it is 100 per cent nut and free of palm oil and salt.
1 tbsp cold-pressed rapeseed oil
1 shallot, peeled and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
100g smooth 100 per cent almond butter
1tbsp lemon juice
1tsp honey
1tbsp reduced salt dark soy sauce, eg Kikkoman
100ml water
Cayenne pepper
Heat the oil in a small non-stick saucepan over a medium heat and fry the shallot and garlic for a couple of minutes until softened and glossy.
Stir in the almond butter and stir until it melts, then add the lemon juice, the honey and soy sauce, and gradually work in the water until a thick pouring consistency. Season with cayenne pepper.
Whizz in a blender until smooth, then pour into a bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave to cool. You can add a drop more water before serving if it thickens.
Kefir dressing
Boosts gut health
With a broader range of probiotics than live natural yogurt, kefir makes for a good choice for a salad dressing, the seasoning offsetting its natural sourness. Kefir is one of a number of fermented foods thought to promote gut health by preventing gut dysbiosis and promoting the growth of beneficial bacteria. In addition its calcium content is a valuable nutrient to prevent osteoporosis, and it is further thought to help blood sugar regulation, which is especially relevant to Type 2 diabetes.
Serves 4
100g kefir yogurt
1tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1tbsp water
Sea salt
Pinch of sugar
2tsp finely chopped chives
2tsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
2tsp finely chopped basil or mint
Whisk the kefir, oil, water, a little salt and sugar in a small bowl to blend, then stir in the herbs.
Drizzle this over a salad of roast vegetables – peppers, beetroot, red onions, courgettes, with some cooked green lentils or rocket mixed in.
Turmeric tahini
Anti-inflammatory and anti-ageing
Tahini is an anti-oxidant that helps lower inflammation, the precursor to so many illnesses and conditions, in addition to containing sesamol that also has anti-ageing benefits. Turmeric too is well known for being rich in phytonutrients such as curcumin and has long played a role in alternative remedies, such as treating colds.
Serves 4
sea salt
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 heaped tsp finely grated fresh turmeric
90g tahini
4-6 tbsp water
Whizz all the ingredients to a creamy dressing in a small bowl using a stick blender, adding 4 tablespoons of water to start, it should be the consistency of double cream.
*Make a salad of sliced tomatoes seasoning them with salt and leaving for 20 minutes. Then mix in some lamb’s lettuce, drizzle over the dressing and scatter with pomegranate seeds and spring onion.
Avocado mayonnaise
Protects against osteoporosis and cancer
Serves 4-6
Avocados boast vitamin K that supports bone health by slowing down bone loss which prevents osteoporosis. The folate content may counter certain cancers and help to ward off depression. They also contain a surprising amount of fibre, in a deliciously delicate way, most of us struggle to get enough.
Flesh of 2 avocados
1tbsp lemon or lime juice
1tbsp full-fat Greek yogurt
1tbsp extra virgin olive oil
A couple of shakes of Tabasco
Sea salt
3tbsp water
Whizz all the ingredients in a food processor to the consistency of mayonnaise. Transfer to a bowl, cover the surface with clingfilm and chill. It is best made up to a couple of hours in advance.
Slather onto cold potatoes and crisp salad veggies, chicken and prawns, and all your barbecue offerings.