Blackberry salad dressing

My scandalous neighbour who doesn't cut back his bramble at all, ever, means my back garden is currently facing blackberrygate. This is not a complaint, but it means I have to be both proactive and creative in ways to use the kilos my partner picks and delivers to the kitchen every weekend. The blackberry salad dressing recipe at the bottom of this page has been a particular success.

I live in a terraced house nested alongside a neighbour who is untethered to the idea of preserving dully pristine monoculture to surround his home. I admire this, not just because it means we enjoy the spoils of the overgrowth, but because lawns are bullshit. While we rarely including our home landscapes in criticisms of the state and their sinister histories, lawns are political spaces with deep links to capitalism and colonialism.

Blackberry salad dressing ingredients, substitutions and variations

The recipe for my blackberry vinaigrette dressing is loose and adaptable. The trick, as with anything you cook, is always to taste and adjust as you go. If it's too tart, add more sweetener. Add salt to taste. Go with your instincts.

While the recipe I provide calls for perilla oil and wild thyme, I have also made this without wild thyme and using extra virgin olive oil instead. I've also used balsamic vinegar instead of the combination of red wine vinegar and pomegranate molasses. Vegan honey works well in place of agave. I've also used rose syrup for sweetener.

The most important thing is you maintain the following ingredients

• Blackberries because, after all, this is a blackberry salad dressing
• Oil(s) of some description. Play around here but go for an oil with flavour rather than canola oil.
• Something acidic like vinegar or citrus juice. I prefer to use red wine or balsamic vinegars. Pomegranate molasses will also add acidity.

Equipment

All you need is a blender and a few minutes of time.

Storage

Keep sealed in an airtight container in the fridge. This will keep for at least a week, but likely longer.

📖 Recipe

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Blackberry salad dressing (vinaigrette)

This blackberry salad dressing comes together in a flash and is easily adaptable based on what ingredients you've got to hand. If you don't have red wine vinegar and pomegranate molasses, eliminate both and use balsamic vinegar instead. You can also use extra virgin olive oil in place of the perilla oil, but in that case I would add slightly more (perilla oil, much like sesame oil, has a very strong character so less goes a long way).

Course: Salad

Equipment

• Blender

Ingredients

• 150 grams blackberries
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 ½ tablespoons water
• 1-2 tablespoons agave
• 2 teaspoons pomegranate molasses
• 2 teaspoons perilla oil
• 1 teaspoon wholegrain mustard
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• generous pinch thyme

Instructions

• Add the blackberries to a blender and liquidise until the consistency is smooth. Add remaining ingredients and blend for a few seconds to combine.