Best Arugula Salad Dressing Recipe - A Well-Seasoned Kitchen® (2024)

FAQs

What kind of dressing would be best for bitter greens like arugula or radicchio? ›

The trick to balancing out the bitter lettuces is making a dressing that is slightly sweet and most importantly, robust enough to stand up to the lettuce. I use balsamic vinegar for sweetness, lemon for brightness and dijon mustard and garlic for spice along with olive oil, salt and pepper. This seems to do the trick.

Ranch Dressing

The ranch is hands down America's most beloved salad dressings. It is made from a number of ingredients such as buttermilk, mayonnaise, mustard, garlic, onion, chives, salt, and pepper.

Arugula and baby arugula come from the same plant but are harvested at different stages of maturity. Baby arugula is picked when the leaves are still small and tender, and baby arugula tends to have a less pronounced peppery bite than mature arugula, which has large, full-size leaves.

Removing the bitter flavor from vegetables like arugula and spinach without cooking them can be achieved through a few techniques: Soaking in Ice Water:Fill a bowl with cold water and add ice cubes to make it ice-cold. Submerge the arugula or spinach leaves in the ice water for about 5-10 minutes.

Sweetness balances out acidity, spice, and bitterness. A salad composed of bitter greens may benefit from a sweeter dressing. But sweetness can come from sources other than one-note white sugar; consider honey, pureed dates, maple syrup, jam, or molasses as sweeteners that also add flavor and mouth-feel.

Caesar dressing. Made up of mayonnaise, cheese, salt and oil (and all too often, anchovies), Caesar tends to be one of the least healthy options out there. Those ingredients cause it to be high in both saturated fats and sodium.

Generally speaking, the healthiest salad dressing will be a vinaigrette like balsamic or oil and vinegar, while Caesar, ranch or anything with the word “creamy” will be the unhealthiest. The exception? We like products made with healthy swaps—think Greek yogurt in place of mayo or heavy cream.

Ranch dressing is the most popular salad dressing in the USA due to its creamy texture, tangy buttermilk base, and blend of herbs and spices like garlic, onion, dill, and parsley. Its versatility makes it a staple on dinner tables across America.

Arugula is a cruciferous vegetable, which has many plant compounds and antioxidants. One compound, glucosinolates, exhibits anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects that may prevent various diseases.

What should not be planted next to arugula? ›

Most plants in the nightshade or solanum family are incompatible with arugula plants. This is because nightshades prefer a more acidic soil pH of 5.5-6.5 while arugula prefers a more neutral soil pH of 6.5-7. It is not recommended to grow arugula next to eggplant, peppers, potatoes, or tomato.

Arugula is low in calories and high in vitamins and minerals, including vitamin C, vitamin K, folate, calcium, and potassium. There is no specific recommended daily intake of arugula, but consuming moderate amounts as part of a balanced diet is generally safe for most people.

In southern Italy it's called "aruculu" or "rucola." This became its most commonly used name in the United States, because most Italian immigrants to the states came from southern Italy. But in the north, it's known as "ruchetta."

Spinach contains over three times the amount of Vitamin K as arugula, which is essential for keeping bones strong and supporting the production of red blood cells. Both spinach and arugula contain high levels of nitrates, yet arugula contains considerably more.

Did you know that arugula has more calcium and zinc than kale? It's also nutritionally equal to kale in iron and magnesium and has fewer carbohydrates and naturally occurring sugars.

The foods that help reduce bitterness are: Salt while cooking and/or while eating (like on bitter salad greens) Sweet or Spicy. Sour or Acids like lemon or vinegar.

Maple-Dijon Vinaigrette

This fall-inspired vinaigrette pairs best with tender greens and other Fall seasonal treats like apples.