Name: Herby Buttermilk Vinaigrette
Ingredients: 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard; ½ cup buttermilk; ½ medium garlic clove; 2 Tbsp. chopped shallot; Zest of ½ lemon; 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice; 2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar; ½ tsp. whole black peppercorns; 1 tsp. kosher salt, plus more as needed; 1 cup grapeseed oil or other neutral oil; 1 cup good-quality extra virgin olive oil; 3 sprigs of parsley, stems and leaves, roughly chopped (about 2 Tbsp.); 5 sprigs of dill, stems and leaves, roughly chopped (a scant ¼ cup)

A bowl of buttermilk vinaigrette on a platter of crudit vegetables.

Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Mira Evnine

Aretha Franklin used to come into Le Bernardin for her birthday every year. And she wouldn’t order a single item that was actually on the menu. One of her standing requests was a shredded carrot salad with raisins and ranch dressing! Needless to say, we didn’t have bottles of Hidden Valley squirreled away in Le Bernardin’s kitchen. So since I was working the sauce station, the task of making ranch from scratch invariably fell to me.

Now, although I’d been dipping my pizza crusts in ranch for most of my life, I’d never actually made it before. So I tried to feel my way through it, touching down all the creamy, tangy, herbaceous qualities associated with ranch dressing while still creating a product worthy of a Michelin-starred restaurant (to say nothing of Ms. Aretha Franklin). This recipe is what I came up with. It’s even more pronounced in flavor than HVR, but much lighter in body; it manages to further increase the versatility of an already all-purpose dressing.

Use this buttermilk vinaigrette as a marinade for chicken, since the buttermilk will tenderize the meat. Pour it over a piece of fish and bake in the oven with a bit of salt and pepper. Drizzle it over a pile of greens topped with grilled shrimp. Swap it in for mayo in a lightened up egg, tuna, or pasta salad, or of course, use as a salad dressing.

This recipe was excerpted from 'Sunday Best' by Adrienne Cheatham. Buy the full book on Amazon. This book was selected as one of the best cookbooks of 2022.

Ingredients

1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

½ cup buttermilk

½ medium garlic clove

2 Tbsp. chopped shallot

Zest of ½ lemon

2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar

½ tsp. whole black peppercorns

1 tsp. kosher salt, plus more as needed

1 cup grapeseed oil or other neutral oil

1 cup good-quality extra virgin olive oil

3 sprigs of parsley, stems and leaves, roughly chopped (about 2 Tbsp.)

5 sprigs of dill, stems and leaves, roughly chopped (a scant ¼ cup)

Preparation

Step 1
Place the mustard, buttermilk, garlic, shallot, lemon zest, lemon juice, vinegar, peppercorns, and salt in a blender. Blend on low speed just so the ingredients get acquainted, about 45 seconds. They don’t have to be completely puréed—that’ll come later.
Step 2
With the blender running, open the top. Increase the speed to medium and slowly drizzle in the two oils, turning the speed up a little more (to medium-high) as you go.
Step 3
Stop the blender, remove the jar from the base, and taste for seasoning. (Do not dip your finger or a spoon in while the jar is on the base. Anything can happen—an electrical surge, a switch getting bumped. It’s not worth the risk. Safety first!) If it needs more salt (highly likely), add a couple more pinches.
Step 4
Add the parsley and dill, put the lid back on, and return the jar to the base. Starting on low speed and slowly increasing to high, purée for about 15 seconds to partially break down the parsley and dill.
Step 5
Serve immediately or refrigerate, covered, for up to 5 days. The flavors meld really nicely after a few hours in the fridge.

Cookbook cover of Sunday Best by Adrienne Cheatham.

Reprinted from Sunday Best. Copyright © 2022 Adrienne Cheatham with Sarah Zorn. Photographs copyright © 2022 Kelly Marshall. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Random House. Buy the full book from Penguin Random House, Bookshop, or Amazon.