Cilantro Curry Vinaigrette

Here at cooking with conks, we’re BIG fans of sauces, all kinds of sauces. In our view, this includes vinaigrettes and other dressings. For years, we’ve been making our own sauces and dressings, partially because we want to know what goes into our food, but mostly because we love making messes in the kitchen! We’re also giant salad nerds, so we’re always looking for new things to add to a pile of greens, quinoa, lentils, etc. One of our favorite unique dressings is this Cilantro Curry Vinaigrette.

When we set out to make this, we knew we wanted something that tasted both bright and fresh, as well as earthy and warm. This unique dressing is warm, acidic, slightly sweet, herby, and ultimately delicious and satisfying.

Ingredients for Cilantro Curry Vinaigrette

While the name is hopefully somewhat self-explanatory (you will, in fact, need cilantro and curry!), this recipe does include a few not-so-obvious ingredients that you should hopefully already have in your pantry or fridge (seriously, if you don’t have spicy brown mustard, we suggest stocking up because we add it to almost ALL of our vinaigrettes).

Here’s everything you need to make this recipe:

• Olive oil – use a good quality extra virgin olive oil here, as it makes up much of the flavor.
• Fresh lime juice – this provides the much-needed fresh acidity.
• Apple cider vinegar – for extra acid, we used a little apple cider vinegar, which also gives a little sweetness.
• Cilantro  – since you’re blending this dressing, there’s no need to remove the stems. They can blend right up with the leaves!
• Curry powder – this recipe doesn’t skimp on curry powder, so be sure to use a curry powder that you like. 
• Maple syrup or honey – a little sweetener balances out the acidity and curry powder. If you want to keep this vegan, use maple syrup.
• Spicy brown mustard – as with most of our vinaigrettes, we added spicy brown mustard (not big Dijon fans here) to help emulsify and thicken the dressing. Many brands are gluten-free.

How to Make the Vinaigrette

Add all of the ingredients to a food processor or blender (or use an immersion blender) and blend until it’s smooth, then taste for seasoning.

Use this as a dressing for roasted vegetables in sheet pan meals, leafy greens, or lentils, like in our Lentil Salad recipe. It’s super versatile and delicious!