A versatile salad dressing you can make at home

Michele Anna Jordan’s new cookbook, “Vinaigrettes and Other Dressings,” gives home cooks the tools and tips needed to make a variety of salad dressings at home. You may never look at a bottle of store-bought dressing the same way again.

Persephone’s Pleasure: Pomegranate Vinaigrette

From “Vinaigrettes and Other Dressings” by Michele Anna Jordan

1 small shallot, minced

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar, champagne vinegar or pomegranate vinegar

Pinch of sugar

Kosher salt

1/3 cup freshly squeezed pomegranate juice

Zest of 1/2 orange, cut into very fine julienne

Black pepper in a mill

2/3 cup mild extra-virgin olive oil

Put the shallot in a small bowl, cover with vinegar and let sit for 15 to 20 minutes.

Add the sugar and several generous pinches of salt and then stir in pomegranate juice, orange zest and several turns of black pepper.

Whisk in the olive oil, taste, and correct for salt and pepper as needed. Taste again, and if it’s a bit flat, add a pinch more sugar.

Use immediately or refrigerate, covered, for up to two days.

Yield: About 1 cup