Garlic Dressing — The Flavor That Ties a Summer Garden Together

Summer peak. Garden producing faster than I can eat. Squash especially — coming in like it's being paid by the piece. Made fried squash three times this week: sliced thin, cornmeal dredge, fried in a skillet. Betty's way — no flour, no egg, just cornmeal and squash and oil. The squash is the point and you don't season the point.

Canning has started. Twelve pints of dill pickles Saturday — cucumbers packed with garlic and dill and peppercorns and brine. Processed in the water bath ten minutes, then lined up to cool, and the ping of the lids sealing is the sound of summer being saved for January.

Amber and James came up for the weekend. James cooked Saturday night — jollof rice, his mother's recipe, a Nigerian rice dish in tomato sauce with ginger and curry and thyme. Unlike anything I've eaten in my life. I ate two plates and asked for the recipe, which surprised James — he said most people just say it's interesting. I said interesting is what people say when they don't want to ask for the recipe. I want the recipe. We understand each other, James and I. Food is the shortest distance between two people.

Garlic kept showing up all week — packed into those twelve pints of dill pickles, layered into James’s jollof rice, threading through everything we ate. It got me thinking about how a single ingredient can be the quiet backbone of a whole season’s cooking. This garlic dressing is the kind of thing Betty would’ve kept in the refrigerator door all summer: sharp, honest, and built to make whatever came out of the garden taste exactly like itself.

Garlic Dressing

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes | Total Time: 10 minutes | Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
• 2/3 cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Instructions

1. Mince the garlic. Peel and finely mince all four cloves. For a milder flavor, press the garlic through a fine grater or use the flat of a knife to work it into a paste with a pinch of salt.
2. Combine the base. In a small bowl or jar, whisk together the red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, salt, pepper, and oregano until well combined.
3. Add the garlic. Stir in the minced garlic and let the mixture sit for two minutes so the flavors begin to come together.
4. Emulsify with oil. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while whisking constantly, or add the oil to a jar, seal the lid, and shake vigorously for 30 seconds until the dressing is emulsified.
5. Taste and adjust. Taste the dressing and adjust salt, pepper, or vinegar to your preference. It should be bold and garlicky with a clean acidic finish.
6. Rest and serve. Allow the dressing to rest at room temperature for 5 minutes before serving. Store covered in the refrigerator for up to one week; shake or whisk again before each use.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 165 | Protein: 0g | Fat: 18g | Carbs: 2g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 115mg