Long live Terry's house dressing

Issue 41: A simple vinaigrette for salads, drizzling, and marinading.

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Super Simple, Very Non-Traditional Salad Niçoise

I grew up in a salad house.

Without fail, nearly every meal was served with a salad and not infrequently, we’d have big “garbage” salads for dinner using up whatever leftovers were in the fridge and tossing it with lettuce.

In a family of cooks and eaters, we also rarely bought salad dressings and all of these salads used one dressing, and one dressing only: Terry’s House Dressing. 

texts from my brother.

Terry’s House Dressing was born out of the fact that my parents didn’t like anything available in stores and the fact that my dad likes to “play with food.” The dressing is legendary — well as much as a salad dressing can be. There is always a bottle ready at my parents house. Family friends now make it. It’s easily riffable. It makes a good marinade. It hits all the right notes: puckery, umami, garlicky, salty, herby. 

People go back for seconds of salad in our house. For salad. 

In adulthood, I am usually lazy with my salad making, drizzling some oil and vinegar on lettuce and calling it a day. But an abundance of almost-old produce and a forthcoming busy week got me thinking: I have to make Terry’s House Dressing. 

I made a batch and just a few days later, it’s nearly gone. I will be using it on salads, drizzled on lazy plates of produce, and for marinades all summer long.

I suggest you do the same.

a simple salad of arugula, scallions, and parm

Terry’s House Dressing

1 cup olive oil

7 tbsp of red wine vinegar (or any vinegar or a combo)

3 dashes Worcestershire sauce

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 heaping teaspoons dried Italian herbs

1 bay leaf

Healthy pinch of salt, pepper to taste

To make: Whisk together. You can use right away but I’d strongly recommend waiting a day or so to use it. Store in an air-tight bottle.

Subs: Apple cider vinegar makes a great sub for red wine vinegar (or do a combo of both). My brother adds a spoonful of mustard to his version. My dad thinks lemon might be a good addition here too.

Use it for: Simple green salad (recipe below), drizzle over grilled vegetables, easy salad niçoise (recipe below), drizzled over a mini charcuterie board situation (see below), marinade for grilled meats, dunk for good bread.

a plate of produce, cheese, meats, and bread is my favorite no-cook meal.

Simple Green Salad

Lettuce (little gem, arugula, mesclun, etc)

Handful of thinly sliced scallions

microgreens

tons of parmesan cheese

Terry’s House Dressing

To make: Toss greens together. Add dressing to taste. Top with parm.

Other great additions: grated carrots, toasted nuts/sunflower seeds, edible flowers if you’re extra like my parents.

Super Simple, Very Non-Traditional Salad Niçoise

Serves 1-2, but can be easily expanded upon for more people. There’s no one agreed upon way to make a salad niçoise so I think whatever vegetable strikes your fancy works here, but the ingredients I’d say you *must* have are jammy eggs, tuna, and potatoes (these are my favorite parts :shrug:).

2 eggs

1 can of tuna packed in oil, drained slightly (beans make an excellent vegan substitute)

Handful of olives

1 Persian cucumber, thinly sliced

1 shallot, thinly sliced

1 large tomato or a handful of smaller ones, sliced

Handful of green beens, about 6ish ounces

1 large potato or a couple of smaller potatoes

Terry’s House Dressing

To top: flaky salt, herbs (chives, parsley)

To cook: Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Add the green beans, potatoes, and eggs and set a few timers: 3-4 minutes for slightly-cooked-but-still-crunchy green beans, 7 minutes for jammy eggs, and about 15-20 minutes for cooked potatoes (depending on how big they are. stick a fork in them and they’re done when they’re soft).

To make: Arrange everything but the shallots on a plate. Drizzle with Terry’s House Dressing. Top with shallots, flaky salt, and herbs.

Other salad dressings I like:

• My super-herby ranch

• Caesar Salad from Bon Appétit

• No-frills miso dressing from Food 52

Yours in salad,
Brianna