House Dressing (cooking.nytimes.com)

This perfect vinaigrette recipe comes from Via Carota, the charming West Village restaurant run by Jody Williams and Rita Sodi. Since I first wrote about this recipe, it’s become indispensable not only for me but also for my entire Culinary Brain Trust, who now simply call it House Dressing. This version comes from my book, “Good Things” (Random House, 2025). The warm water in this recipe might surprise you. “We add warm water to make it more palatable,” Ms. Williams said. “Pure vinegar is just too strong — it assaults the taste buds. We want a salad dressing so savory and delicious that you can eat spoonfuls of it. We want you to be able to drink it!” Drizzle this liberally over everything: boiled asparagus, farro salad, steak, fish or roast chicken. And if you don’t have both types of mustard on hand, just use twice as much of whichever you do have.

Rating: None

Ingredients

• 1 large shallot, very finely diced
• 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon aged sherry vinegar, plus more as needed
• 1 tablespoon warm water
• 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1½ teaspoons honey
• 1½ teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1½ teaspoons whole-grain mustard
• 2 thyme sprigs, washed leaves picked and finely chopped (about 1/2 teaspoon)
• 1 garlic clove, finely grated
• 1 teaspoon/3 grams kosher salt, plus more as needed
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preparation steps

1. Place the shallot in a fine-mesh sieve and quickly rinse with cold water. Allow to drain, place in a medium bowl. Add vinegar and warm water, and let the shallot mixture sit for 2 minutes
2. Whisk in oil, honey, both mustards, thyme, garlic, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust the salt and vinegar as needed.
3. Cover and refrigerate remaining dressing for up to 1 week.

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