Citrus Vinaigrette
Our Citrus Vinaigrette has a beautifully bright flavor that will perk up any salad. What gives this salad dressing its uniqueness? We used fresh ingredients, as well as sweet and savory elements, to create this lovely vinaigrette. For a twist on the typical citrus salad dressing recipes, we used the juice and zest of clementines, lemon, fresh rosemary, coarse Dijon mustard, and a beautiful extra virgin olive oil. Simple ingredients, but when combined, they make the perfect vinaigrette to dress our Fresh Citrus Salad.
This recipe is vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, dairy free, healthy, and super delicious! It can be made ahead and when ready to serve, pair it with our Fresh Citrus Salad. This combination makes a great first course when entertaining. Or, add a protein to make it a light and fresh entrée salad. Learn more about our Citrus Vinaigrette in our Blog Comments & Tips.
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RECIPE
(Check out our Step by Step Instructions below the recipe card.)
Recipe updated as of 3/25/22
CITRUS VINAIGRETTE
Ingredients
Instructions
- With a zester, grate the zest from the clementines (or grate orange zest). Using a juicer, squeeze the juice from the clementines (or fresh oranges). Then squeeze juice from the lemon.
- To a small mixing bowl, add the clementine zest and juice, and the lemon juice. Add coarse mustard, salt, black pepper, and very finely chopped fresh rosemary, and whisk together to combine the ingredients. Slowly whisk in olive oil until the mixture has emulsified. Serve immediately, or store tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days (see Note #1).
Notes
- Store refrigerated in an airtight container or small mason jar for no more than 3 days. 30 minutes before serving, remove from the fridge to bring to room temperature. Whisk (or shake) thoroughly before using.
- This is the perfect vinaigrette for our Fresh Citrus Salad.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
63.87Fat (grams)
6.82Sat. Fat (grams)
0.94Carbs (grams)
0.95Fiber (grams)
0.17Net carbs
0.77Sugar (grams)
0.62Protein (grams)
0.12Sodium (milligrams)
59.33Cholesterol (grams)
0.00Nutritional information provided is strictly an estimate and will vary based on ingredient brands and cooking methods.
Step by Step Instructions
PREPARATION
Organize all your tools and ingredients before you begin. Getting all your ingredients in one place at the beginning will shorten your prep time.
STEP 1
With a zester, grate 1 teaspoon zest from clementines (about 1-2 clementines, or orange zest). Squeeze 4 tablespoons of fresh clementine juice (from about 2 - 3 clementines - or use fresh orange juice) with a citrus juicer. Then squeeze 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice.
STEP 2
To a small mixing bowl, add the clementine juice and zest, and the lemon juice. Then add 1 tablespoon country Dijon mustard (coarse mustard), ⅛ teaspoon Himalayan pink salt, one pinch of ground black pepper, and ⅛ teaspoon very finely chopped fresh rosemary, and whisk together to combine the ingredients. Slowly whisk in 5 tablespoons Colonna extra virgin olive oil until the mixture has emulsified.
SERVING & STORING
Serve immediately with our Fresh Citrus Salad, or store tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days (see Note below).
Note: Store refrigerated in an airtight container or small mason jar for no more than 3 days. About 30 minutes before serving, remove from the fridge to bring to room temperature. Whisk (or shake) thoroughly before using.
Blog Comments & Tips
Bright and beautiful vinaigrette!
This is one of the loveliest salad dressings I’ve ever made. It’s bright and citrusy, and is absolutely perfect with the salty sweet flavors of our Fresh Citrus Salad. It’s really flavorful and fresh, yet it does not overpower this salad.
We’ve taken a bit of inspiration from Valerie Bertinelli’s recipe for Helen Vitale’s Orange and Fennel Salad, and pimped it up to give the dressing a more vivacious taste. I have often seen recipes for orange vinaigrette, or citrus dressing that use navel, cara cara, or valencia oranges. I had some beautiful clementines on hand and thought, why not use these little gems instead of oranges? After testing a few version of our recipe, we discovered that we preferred the sweeter, more floral essence from clementines over the oranges.
Clementines are full of vitamin C. Just one little clementine provides 40% of your daily vitamin C needs, and 5% of your folate and thiamine RDI! This fruit also has many antioxidants and immune boosters that are reported to boost your skin health.
How do you ensure the best results from our recipe?
Our 5 tips to making a great Citrus Vinaigrette:
Use organic fresh fruit and fresh rosemary.
Clementines have a very thin skin, so be careful not to be overzealous with your zesting. Don’t press down too hard with the zester, and take only one pass over each section of the clementine’s peel.
High quality extra virgin olive oil makes a big difference in this vinaigrette. We love the Colonna extra virgin olive oil from Williams Sonoma.
Whisk all the ingredients (except the olive oil) well, then very slowly drizzle in the olive oil while you are whisking. This will help it emulsify.
For the freshest and brightest flavor, use this vinaigrette the same day. However, it can be stored refrigerated for a maximum of 3 days.
It’s time to customize and Pimp Our Recipe.
Pimp Our Recipe:
Make it Spicy: Add ½ fresh serrano pepper that has been deseeded and very finely chopped. If you want it scorching hot, add the entire serrano pepper. Although the seeds have the most spice, we recommend removing them to ensure a smoother texture.
Make it a Meal: Add this Citrus Vinaigrette to our Fresh Citrus Salad for a lovely combination of sweet and savory flavors. To make it a complete meal, add a protein such as sliced grilled chicken breast or steak. Grilled salmon tastes beautiful with these flavors, too!
Enjoy and let us know what you think by commenting below, rating our recipes, subscribing, following, and liking us on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube! Don’t forget to subscribe to get updates on new recipes and tips & tricks.
Happy Cooking!
Mich
Footnote: Remember to drizzle in the olive oil very slowly while whisking.
Inspired by Valerie Bertinelli’s recipe for Helen Vitale’s Orange and Fennel Salad on FoodNetwork.com, we changed the ratios, replaced the oranges with clementines, and added other fresh ingredients to pimp up this dressing for a fresher and brighter flavor profile.
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