About a year ago I tossed together a winter salad with Clementines and spinach and commented that it went beautifully with ginger dressing. I made a version of that salad for a dinner party lately, but instead of venturing out into the icy cold to buy a ginger-based dressing I made one myself with the help of Michael Ruhlman’s book Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking. It was easier and more satisfying than I’d expected…

According to Ruhlman, any basic vinaigrette should be 3 parts oil to 1 part acid (eg vinegar) – and I found that using this ratio (rather than eyeballing it, like I used to do for dressings) was really useful in getting a good flavor and consistency. The recipe I came up with for this salad, based on his guidelines, is as follows:

1 T balsamic vinegar
1 T white wine vinegar
1 T orange juice
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 inch ginger, peeled and grated
Generous pinch powdered ginger

Whisk these together then gradually add 9 tablespoons of oil of your choice (I used half high-quality olive oil and half regular vegetable oil and it came out nicely). Shake well to blend before serving.

For an extra zing, I toasted some almonds for the salad (no walnuts on hand, sadly) in some olive oil and ginger and salt before tossing them into the mix.

You can also double or triple the recipe (this makes enough for salad for about 6 people), refrigerate, and save it for later.