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Italian Dressing
Put in a bowl 1/2 teaspoonful of salt, a dash of cayenne, or 1/2 saltspoonful of paprika, and one tablespoonful of tomato catsup; add gradually, stirring constantly, 4 tablespoonfuls of olive-oil. Add-1 clove of garlic mashed to a pulp, and 1 tablespoonful of tarragon vinegar, and stir until well blended.
A tomato-tinted vinaigrette of the sort that turned up on American tables under the name "Italian" long before bottled versions existed. Everything here is measured except the yield, which is small.
- SaltspoonfulA saltspoon is a quarter teaspoon, so 1/2 saltspoonful is about 1/8 teaspoon of paprika, used as the milder alternative to cayenne.
- The ratioFour parts oil to one part vinegar is richer than the 3:1 most modern vinaigrettes use. If it tastes flat, add vinegar a few drops at a time rather than reaching for more salt.
- Tomato catsupPeriod catsups were often thinner, sharper and less sweet than today's ketchup. Modern ketchup may make the dressing noticeably sugary; a tablespoon of tomato passata plus a pinch of sugar and a drop of vinegar is likely closer to what was intended.
- Order of operationsSalt and spice go into the catsup first because they dissolve in the watery phase; once the oil is in, salt stays gritty. Keep to the sequence as written.
- Adding the oilDrizzling it in while stirring gives a loose emulsion, helped by the pulp in the tomato catsup. It will separate on standing, which is normal for this style, so whisk again at the table.
- GarlicOne clove mashed to a pulp is assertive in this quantity of dressing. Crushing it with the salt on a board, or grating it, gives a smoother result than chopping.
- Tarragon vinegarStill sold, and worth seeking out, but white wine vinegar with a bruised sprig of tarragon steeped in it for an hour is an adequate stand-in. Cider vinegar changes the character considerably.
- YieldAbout 6 tablespoons, a generous 1/3 cup, enough to dress a salad for four. It keeps two or three days refrigerated, though the raw garlic grows stronger as it sits.