Vinaigrette Salad Dressing with Crumbled Roquefort

Most grocery stores carry ready-made Roquefort vinaigrette. Delicious as these dressings are, they are often high in salt and fat. Making salad dressing from scratch takes only a few minutes and allows you to control the salt and fat. Even better, you can add more Roquefort if you love it.

John A. Partridge touts the cheese in his article, "Roquefort-sur-Soulzon: A Great Place for a Case of the "Blues,"' published in the "Michigan Dairy Review." He thinks the peppery, salty, unique flavor of French Roquefort makes it an ideal snack. "Many people enjoy Roquefort with a piece of good bread and a robust wine," he writes.

Gale Gand tells about the history of Roquefort in her article, "For the Love of Cheese," published on epicurean.com. Roquefort is one of the oldest cheeses on record, she notes. "It has been called the King of Cheese and the Cheese of Kings." Roquefort comes from sheep's milk, she explains, is aged 60-90 days, and turned several times a day to distribute moisture evenly.

Look for white and slightly shiny cheese when you shop for Roquefort. The inside of the cheese should be crumbly and streaked with lines of blue. David Lebovitz offers tips for buying Roquefort on his Web site. "It should be moist and creamy without any red mold and the cut surface should glisten with milky freshness," he explains.

Store Roquefort in the original package or wrap it in aluminum foil. To keep the cheese moist, put it in the vegetable bin of your refrigerator.

This recipe for Vinaigrette Salad Dressing with Crumbled Roquefort is the classic vinegar and oil recipe and, thanks to its simplicity, Roquefort is the star of the salad show. The dressing goes well with ice berg lettuce, bitter greens and Cobb salad. Blue cheese may be substituted for Roquefort.

Ingredients

3/4 cup extra light olive oil

1/4 cup wine vinegar

3/4 teaspoon low sodium salt

freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/2 cup crumbled Roquefort cheese

Method

Whisk ingredients together in a small bowl and serve immediately. Makes 1 1/3 cups of dressing.

Copyright 2008 by Harriet Hodgson