Basil vinaigrette

My sauce for summer is Basil vinaigrette. Don’t get me wrong, I love pesto. But this forward basil sauce has the punchy flavor of fresh herbs and takes less than a minute to throw together. And unlike its thicker cousin, this vinaigrette can be poured over everything, from fresh tomatoes and shelled beans, to risotto or roasted potatoes, and even fresh cheese, such as mozzarella or creamy burrata.

As soon as I see them, I start picking up bunches of fresh basil and tomatoes at the market, never letting my supply dwindle. And keeping a container of this vinaigrette on hand means I can have lunch or dinner on the table quickly. But it is also a great sauce to bring on a picnic, which we did the other night, enjoying the tranquility of Paris while most of the city clears up by the end of summer. (Although the next door neighbors, who had a wild party that lasted until 4:30am, didn’t get the memo that they were supposed to leave. Romain reminded them the next morning…in no uncertain terms.)

I am also a big fan of fresh shelled beans, which come in pods and need to be shelled. It’s a bit of a task, but the rewards are worth it.

For our picnic, I packed some diced tomatoes and cooked shelled beans, and picked up a package of burrata cheese at the fromagerie, and served those with spoonfuls of the basil vinaigrette on top.

I think I still have a few weeks left in the fresh basil, so I’m going to try to make this sauce as much as possible until it runs out. But I know that when it’s done, next summer, I’ll have the perfect sauce recipe ready that I can make in minutes.

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Basil vinaigrette

This especially lively vinaigrette is perfect with tomatoes, but it can also go with a variety of other things – spooned over burrata, fresh mozzarella, or feta cheese. It can also accompany grilled vegetables, fish, pork, shrimp, or chicken, or you can put some on a white bean dip or labneh just before serving. Pasta toss? Why not? If you want to include fresh skinned beans with your tomatoes and burrata, as I did, they are easy to prepare. Shuck the beans and bring a pot of lightly salted water to the boil. Add the beans and cook at a low simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, until the beans are tender. Drain well, toss the bowl with a generous pour of olive oil – enough so that they are well covered, and season with salt. You can add chopped basil if you like, although the sauce provides a lot of basil flavor.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (125ml) extra virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 spoons red or white wine vinegar
• 1 a tablespoon water
• 1 small shallot (25g), peeled and chopped
• 1 a spoon Dijon mustard
• 3/4 a spoon kosher or flaky sea salt
• 2 cups (25g) loosely packed fresh basil leaves

Instructions

• Place the olive oil, vinegar, water, shallot, mustard, and salt in a blender. Coarsely chop the basil leaves and immediately place them in the blender.
• Cover the blender and blend on high speed for 15 to 30 seconds until the vinaigrette is smooth. If the sauce is too thick for your liking, add a little more water or olive oil to thin it out.

Notes

Service and storage: The basil vinaigrette can be used immediately or kept for a week in the fridge. It is best served at room temperature.