This dressing is a lovely adaptation of Gumbo Shop's Roasted Pecan Vinaigrette salad dressing. Bold, flavorful, delicious.
The story behind Roasted Pecan Vinaigrette
Roasted Pecan Vinaigrette is a recipe my son Chris "obtained" (aka asked for) when he was dining at Gumbo Shop in New Orleans. When we were making plans for our New Year's Eve cook-together dinner, he offered to make this as the first-course salad and I must say, it was delicious.
We did, however, make a small modification.
This is a bold, slightly thick, tangy dressing.
I find that most, if not all, salad dressings, contain too much oil. So we cut the oil in half. It was the perfect amount of oil and made a VERY flavorful, slightly thick, tangy, dressing. For our dinner, we served this Roasted Pecan Vinaigrette tossed with some fresh baby spinach and dried cranberries. The combination was awesome. Chris tells me he generally just serves it on mixed greens, and today I had it for lunch, with a bit of fresh spinach, chopped Romaine lettuce, and fresh julienned apple slices...a sprinkle of bleu cheese made it a great lunch salad. Add a little sliced roasted chicken???
Roasted Pecan Vinaigrette is best on "hearty" leaves
This dressing is bold. Full of garlic, onions, and chopped roasted pecan. Although it seems thick, it really works well on robust lettuces such as spinach and romaine. And did you know that both of those have about the same nutritional values, and in some cases, beat kale? Although I think it would be delicious on kale as well, I'm just saying.
Be sure to keep an eye on those nuts.
How to roast a pecan
The recipe uses roasted pecans. The best way to roast pecans is in a 350º oven. Spread them onto a cooking sheet and roast them, stirring occasionally, until they are nicely toasted. Be sure to keep an eye on them as they get close because, as Chris can tell you, they go from cooked to burnt in pretty short order.
My son Chris making the Roasted Pecan Vinaigrette
Roasted Pecan Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- ⅙ th cup finely minced onion that's 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons
- 1 teaspoon finely minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 teaspoons dried mustard
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup roasted chopped pecans
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Instructions
- Whisk the first 6 ingredients together in a small non-metallic bowl. Slow whisk in the olive oil; add the toasted pecans. Taste and adjust for salt and pepper. Serve over greens.
Elaine Schoch says
I LOVE the Gumbo Shop in New Orleans!!!! Must try this...
Cher says
Yum! Sounds wonderful and I really like the idea of reducing the oil! Can't wait to try this!
Chris says
I finally have a featured recipe on your site. Well... not featured, but it's on there! Whoot! I do love this dressing, as does everyone I've ever made it for. Glad you liked it too 🙂
Chris says
great pic too btw!
LindySez says
Thanks, it's always a challenge to make a brown lumpy dish look good 🙂
LindySez says
If I had to give it a name, it would have had to have been Gumbo Shop's ... but yes, you get the credit for bringing this delicious dressing to the table!