House Dressing Recipe • 5★

Updated June 30, 2025

Rachel Vanni for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Spencer Richards.

19:28Credit...The New York Times Cooking

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.

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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 Dijon mustard

1½ teaspoons whole-grain mustard

2 thyme sprigs, washed leaves picked and finely chopped (about ½ teaspoon)

1 garlic clove, finely grated

1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Step 1Place the shallot in a fine-mesh sieve and quickly rinse with cold water. Allow to drain, then place in a medium bowl. Add vinegar and warm water, and let the shallot mixture sit for 2 minutes

Place the shallot in a fine-mesh sieve and quickly rinse with cold water. Allow to drain, then place in a medium bowl. Add vinegar and warm water, and let the shallot mixture sit for 2 minutes

Step 2Whisk in oil, honey, both mustards, thyme, garlic, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust the salt and vinegar as needed.

Whisk in oil, honey, both mustards, thyme, garlic, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust the salt and vinegar as needed.

Step 3Cover and refrigerate remaining dressing for up to 1 week.

Cover and refrigerate remaining dressing for up to 1 week.

To make a crunchy and refreshing green salad, toss Little Gem lettuce (or your favorite variety of baby lettuce), thinly shaved fennel, tender dill fronds, whole cilantro and parsley leaves, 1-inch pieces of chives and dressing. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Delicately mound onto a serving platter and serve immediately.

Rinsing and a brief soak of alliums will minimize any sharpness (which even shallots often have) and mellow out the taste. Do try it once and it won't be the last time you do it.

I use an old Good Seasons cruet to make an almost identical dressing. The markings on the cruet for vinegar, water, and oil are perfect and it provides a great way to store the dressing. I add the add-ins (honey, herbs, mustard) after the basic vinaigrette. Luckily, I think you can still buy the cruets.

@GardenGazer I wish I still had one of those cruets! Memories of cooking at home as a child.

Didn’t have Sherry vinegar so I used white wine vinegar and it is still delicious

Soaking the shallots made a huge difference and i would certainly make this again and again and again... Total winner! I made it once with pineapple vinegar from Rancho Gordo and it gave it a nice twist, but the sherry vinegar is the way to go. Nice way to enjoy a Via Carota salad at home; Only thing missing was an appearance by Taylor Swift!

I used this to dress an herby potato salad and everyone loved it! Very good dressing

Extra Virgin Olive Oil