Tuesday, 29 May 2012

Just Add ... Salad Dressings review


The sun is out (and - dare I say it? - looks like it's here to stay) and I've got my slimming mojo back (as I told you here) so salads are featuring on the menu a lot lately. I tend to use the same basic recipe for salad most of the time - lettuce, cucumber, sweetcorn and cherry tomatoes - so I like to jazz it up and ring the changes by trying out different salad dressings. I've been having great fun working my way through the selection of Just Add ... salad dressings that I received to review.

As I told you here, Just Add... produce a wide range of cooking aids, not just salad dressings. We've already reviewed the Wedges Seasoning (here) and there will be more reviews on the way as I try out the other products.

The salad dressings come in convenient single serve sachets (which contain plenty for making one big main meal salad for 2 or a couple of days' worth of smaller bowls of side salads). On the days when we didn't use the entire sachet, I put the remainder in the open sachet in a glass so that it would stand upright in the fridge and not leak everywhere.

The range comprises several different flavours : Green Chilli, Coriander and Lime; Herb Vinaigrette; Honey & Mustard; Sweet Balsamic; Sweet Chilli, Ginger &amp Lime; Roast Red Pepper & Roast Garlic; White Wine, Lemon & Dill; Hot Chilli; Italian Cheese. We've tried out most of them over the past couple of weeks so I'll share our tasting notes with you !

Sweet Chilli, Ginger & Lime : Just Add... suggest : Try drizzling over King prawns, lamb's lettuce and salad greens. We used this to knock up a simplified version of Weight Watchers' Asian Beef & Mango Salad (that we blogged about here) and it was absolutely divine.

Herb Vinaigrette : This was lovely but didn't have a huge amount of wow-factor as it was similar to what we usually buy. It's perfect for adding to salad greens for a basic side salad that won't overpower the main dish.

 
Italian Cheese : Just Add... suggest : Try drizzling over Fusilli pasta, baby tomatoes, spring onions, sweetcorn, lamb's lettuce and salad greens. We added this to cold leftover roast chicken, chopped tomatoes and lettuce and it was very nice, adding some interesting flavour, although Sophie wasn't keen on the slightly lumpy texture that the cheese gave it.


Honey & Mustard : Try drizzling over grilled chicken, lamb's lettuce and salad greens. I used this to season a side salad to go with the Sunday roast and drizzled the remainder over my slices of chicken breast in place of gravy which worked well as a really light and summery alternative.

Roast Red Pepper & Roast Garlic : Try drizzling over grilled chicken, sliced mushrooms, baby tomatoes, lamb's lettuce and salad greens. Madhouse Daddy Mike knocked up one of his huge "Chef's Special" salads (that I blogged about here) with bacon, mushrooms, egg, tomatoes, cheese, olives and lettuce and this went really well with it. It would work well with pasta salad or over plain white rice too.

 Sweet Balsamic : Sophie's not usually keen on balsamic vinegar but this dressing has a lovely sweetness that won her over. Great on salad but would also work with strawberries.

The great thing about the single-serve sachets is that you can try out flavours that you're not overly sure of, safe in the knowledge that if you don't like them, you won't have a whole bottle to get through. It also gives you the opportunity to eat salads all week with totally different flavours so you don't get bored, which is great news if you're watching your waistline !

star rating : 5/5

RRP : not sure, I'll find out


Other reviews you may be interested in :


2 comments:

  1. These sound fab, think I'll be trying the sweet balsamic first, <3 Summer!

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  2. like the idea of sachets. we normally had to throw away half a bottle of sauces due to cant finish within 8 weeks time.

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