The first time I visited my boyfriend’s family home, nestled in a fishing village on the west coast of France, summer was fully underway. Lettuces, tomatoes and radishes grown in the communal garden next door routinely made their way onto the table. It was the first time I was asked to wash lettuce that came not from a bag at the supermarket, but instead directly from the ground. It was also the first time I experienced dressing made from scratch. “Surely,” I thought, “making a batch of dressing every single time you want a salad is simply too laborious to sustain.” Not so. You can whip up a vinaigrette in a matter of minutes, and this basic recipe is almost endlessly adaptable. Particularly now, as I am more and more conscious of trying to eat foods whose ingredients I can pronounce, it seems silly to buy commercial dressing when it can be made so easily at home. Read more »