Basil Balsamic Vinaigrette

This month for Secret Recipe Club, I was given Join Us, Pull Up a Chair. Heather began her blog as a way to keep track of her recipes, and then it grew. She's got some great food up. In fact, when I went there just now to link up, I wanted to make all three of the first recipes that came up (Spinach artichoke chicken casserole--yum).

The one I did make was a simple, yet slightly unusual salad dressing. My basil and tomatoes are at their scrawny end and it seemed a nice way to bid the season adieu. In this dressing, Heather uses fresh basil and white balsamic vinegar. I'd never heard of white balsamic vinegar and didn't have it (and I'm guessing it'd be tough to find in my town). A quick internet search said that regular balsamic or white wine vinegar could be substituted. I used regular balsamic and was pleased. The flavor of the vinegar was stronger than usual in a salad dressing; and the sweet, warm-toned balsamic seemed the perfect flavor for a fall salad. If you used the white wine vinegar, I'm guessing you'd have a milder dressing, but the basil would shine through more. Both are win win. And if you can find the white balsamic, then it's probably a triple win for you.

Basil Balsamic Vinaigrette
adapted from Join Us, Pull Up a Chair
Prep time: 3 minutes
Cost: $2.00
basil (free for me, but probably .50-1.00), oil: 1.00, vinegar: .05

1/3 C balsamic vinegar (or white balsamic or white wine)
1 C olive oil
1 C basil leaves, packed
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp sugar

Note: I made a very small amount of this--I quartered the recipe (did I mention my basil was on its way out). Consequently, I skipped the food processor and just chopped my basil very small and then shook my dressing most vigorously. Worked great if you just want to make a bit.

Combine all ingredients in food processor and give it a whirl.

Serve over salad (do I even need to tell you how great this is with tomatoes?). I bet it'd kick butt on chicken or fish too.

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