RESET360 with Camille McLaughlin
Dressings

Warm Garlic Dressing

Sliced garlic and a pinch of chili cooked gently in olive oil until soft and pale gold, then finished with red wine vinegar and lemon and poured warm over sturdy greens.

Why you'll love Warm Garlic Dressing

This is the dressing from Escarole with Warm Garlic and Olive Oil, made in the few minutes before you eat. Garlic warmed slowly in olive oil goes soft, sweet, and nutty, and the oil takes on its flavor. The vinegar and lemon go straight into the hot pan, where they sizzle and blend into the oil.

Poured warm, it wilts the edges of sturdy, slightly bitter greens like escarole, frisée, radicchio, or kale just enough to soften them, while the centers of the leaves stay crisp. The garlic slices come along with the oil and become part of the salad.

The garlic starts in cold oil over medium-low heat. That gentle start gives it time to soften and sweeten all the way through before its edges color, so even four cloves taste mellow on a single salad.

Quick overview: This Warm Garlic Dressing takes 5 min of hands-on time and about 10 min in all and makes 4 servings, each about 1 1/2 tablespoons (makes about 1/3 cup, enough for 1 lb of greens). You'll need a skillet.

Jump to recipe

Small jar of warm olive oil dressing with sliced garlic
Prep 5 minCook 5 minTotal 10 minServes 4Serving about 1 1/2 tablespoons (makes about 1/3 cup, enough for 1 lb of greens)You'll need Skillet

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
  • a pinch of red pepper flakes
  • 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
  • freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

  1. Slice the garlic: Peel the garlic and slice each clove crosswise as thinly and evenly as you can. Even slices cook at the same rate, so they turn gold together.
  2. Start in cold oil: Put the olive oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes in a small skillet before you turn on the heat, then set it over medium-low heat. Starting cold lets the garlic warm slowly with the oil and soften before it colors.
  3. Cook until pale gold: Cook gently, swirling the pan now and then, for 3 to 4 minutes, until the garlic is soft and just turning pale gold at the edges. Take the pan off the heat right away, since the hot oil keeps cooking the garlic and it goes from gold to bitter brown in under a minute.
  4. Add the vinegar and lemon: Carefully pour the red wine vinegar and lemon juice into the warm oil, keeping your face back, since it bubbles and spits. Add the salt and swirl the pan to combine.
  5. Pour it warm: Pour the warm dressing and garlic over washed, well-dried greens in a large bowl and toss with tongs until every leaf is coated and the edges wilt slightly. Season with pepper and serve right away, while the dressing is warm.

Storage and leftovers

This dressing is at its best poured warm the moment it is made. Refrigerate any leftover dressing in a sealed jar within 2 hours and use it within 4 days. Garlic in oil always goes in the refrigerator, because oil seals out air, and at room temperature that can let botulism bacteria grow.

To use it again, warm it in a small skillet over low heat just until the oil turns liquid and warm, then pour it over the greens.

Variations

  • Anchovy: Melt 2 anchovy fillets into the oil with the garlic, mashing them with a spoon until they dissolve.
  • Rosemary: Warm a small sprig of rosemary in the oil with the garlic and lift it out before adding the vinegar.
  • All lemon: Use 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons lemon juice in place of the vinegar and lemon for a brighter, softer dressing.
  • Over vegetables: Pour it over steamed green beans, broccoli, or roasted cauliflower in place of greens.

Notes and tips

  • On the escarole: One batch dresses one Escarole with Warm Garlic and Olive Oil for four, the full recipe as written. In that recipe the salt goes on the leaves in the bowl, which works the same way.
  • Watch the color: Pull the pan at pale gold. Garlic that turns dark brown tastes bitter, so start again with fresh oil and garlic if it goes too far.
  • Use a light-colored pan: A stainless steel skillet lets you see the garlic's color change clearly.
  • Dry the greens well: Water on the leaves cools the dressing and keeps it from clinging.

Nutrition and mindful eating

  • Garlic cooked gently turns soft and sweet, and its flavor spreads into the olive oil so every leaf tastes of it.
  • Olive oil is the real fat in the salad, and warm oil coats sturdy leaves evenly, helping your body absorb the vitamins A and K that greens like escarole carry.
  • Bitter greens ask you to slow down and chew, and the warm garlic oil and bright vinegar make that bitterness taste rounded and pleasant.
  • As you eat, notice how the warm garlic oil softens the bitterness of the greens and makes a simple salad feel like a cooked dish, and pay attention to how satisfied you feel when you pair it with roast chicken, fish, or an egg.

Frequently asked questions

Have a question about this Warm Garlic Dressing? Start here, with the questions people ask most.

Can I make it ahead?

It is best made right before serving, since the whole point is pouring it warm. Leftovers keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 days and rewarm gently in a small skillet.

Why did my garlic taste bitter?

It cooked too hot or too long. Start the garlic in cold oil, keep the heat at medium-low, and pull the pan as soon as the slices turn pale gold.

Which greens work best?

Sturdy, slightly bitter ones: escarole, frisée, radicchio, dandelion greens, or kale. Spinach works too and wilts more.

Is four cloves of garlic too strong?

Gentle cooking makes the garlic soft and sweet, so it tastes mellow. Sliced and slowly warmed, it is much milder than raw garlic.

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Tags: Dressings, Italian, Dairy-Free, 30 Minutes or Less