Knowledge Base > Char Nolan - Ask Me Anything (Office Hours)

Ask Me Anything (Office Hours)

Char Nolan - Ask Me Anything (Office Hours)

This event was on Tuesday, November 15, 2022 at 11:00 am Pacific, 2:00 pm Eastern

Join Chef Char Nolan in her virtual office as she welcomes all of your questions. This event was created for you and we encourage you to ask anything – from cooking techniques to cou… Read More.

Recorded

Question:

Any suggestions for getting the right balance of sour flavors in vinaigrettes w/ a little oil + sweetener, like maple syrup or pinch of salt. Even w/ sweetener, I'm finding an aversion to overly sour. I prefer lower sodium.?

— Tracy Matesz

Answer:

Well, I'm going to give you a ding ding ding you've come to the right person. So you're gonna make your salad dressing. in a little jar You're gonna put the top on you're going to shake it up. And then at the end you're going to throw in maybe a teaspoon of either flaxseed meal or chia seeds let it sit for about 10 minutes and then at the end you're going to take a coffee frother. Like that and put it in the jar and let it do all of the emulsifying and it changes the texture and it changes the flavor and it gives you a really creamy and delicious. Dressing that you would swear was filled with oil or whatever. So those are my tricks either flaxseed meal or Chia. You can also add a little bit a piece of tofu and crumble it up. And then also use your frother or put it in a an immersion blender or your food processor and just was it up and it'll be delicious but I have to say that I think Tracy has hit the nail on the head because when you are new to plant-based eating or you love salads and you miss that kind of umami that you get from an oil-based salad dressing creating a thickness to it. It changes what you see. It doesn't look like it's, you know, just oil but that it's got some texture to it. So let me know how you make out with that and I think you will find the right balance
Char Nolan

Char Nolan

Chef Instructor

@char_nolan