Whether it’s a crisp salad or a pan of butternut squash straight from the oven, I’ve met few dishes that lemon truffle dressing wouldn’t improve. If you’re not convinced yet, this bright, citrus dressing is also easy to make. And with nothing but olive oil, it’s a wonderful addition to a heart-healthy meal.

Why bother with lemon truffle dressing?

One thing I love about a lemon dressing is that the slight sweetness the lemon lends. It’s mellower than your average dressing. And unlike a vinegar-based vinaigrette, the lemon is not too overpowering. And with a healthy amount of freshly ground black pepper, this mellow lemon flavor also packs a bite.

What to do with this dressing?

Here are a few other ways I like to use this dressing.

Drizzle it over steamed greens, like green beans, broccoli, broccolini, or asparagus.
Use this dressing to finish a side salad filled with veggies.
Turn cooked chickpeas or cannelloni beans into a salad with cherry tomatoes, diced onions, arugula, and a drizzle of lemon truffle dressing.
Roast mushrooms and mix cold with cooked couscous, Pecorino Romano cheese, and lemon dressing.
After cooking a whole grain, like whole farro or Kamut, toss it in a few tablespoons of this dressing to add flavor.
Roast cauliflower (with no oil to encourage browning), and drizzle it with this dressing plus toasted slivered almonds for an easy, fancy side.
Roast butternut squash slices in the oven, and finish it off with a drizzle of this dressing whisked with a dollop of white miso. Finish with freshly chopped chives.
Toss a few tablespoons of this dressing into a blender with some cooked chickpeas, tahini, and garlic for a hummus with an extra somethin’-somethin’.
You could even add some chopped herbs and sprinkle it over steamed fish to neutralize the “fishy smell” or toss it with fresh pasta.
Is this list getting a little crazy yet? Can you tell that I go to bed with this dressing tucked under my pillow?

The sky’s the limit!! You could even stuff the dressing with thinly-sliced shallots or onions to tone down their bite before adding your dressing to a salad.

The inspo

My inspiration for this comes from the Lemonade Cookbook, famous for its California comfort food, and some of these ideas above come from this book as well. I have yet to find a recipe in that cookbook that’s even marginally bad.

How to make lemon truffle dressing. Hint: it’s easy.

That said, I’ve made a few changes to this recipe to make it more lemon-y, pack it with healthy olive oil, and scale it up or down more easily. Here are the basic ratios:

1 part lemon juice
1-2 parts olive oil

I usually do ¼ cup lemon juice to ¼ cup olive oil. Too sour for your taste? Just add more olive oil. Too bitter? Cut some of the olive oil with canola (It won’t be as healthy, but I won’t tell.). Then, you can add the seasonings in proportion to that. For ½ cup of dressing, I use:

½ teaspoon flaky or coarse salt
½ teaspoon truffle oil
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Of course, if you’re making a whole cup, you’d just double all of this: 1 teaspoon flaky salt, 1 teaspoon truffle oil, and ½ teaspoon pepper. You might want to add less truffle oil at first, since many oils differ in truffle content. You also may want to look out for artificially flavored truffle oils, which tend to be stronger in flavor than the oils with actual truffle extract. White or black truffle oil should both work as flavoring. If truffle oil is too expensive, just omit it! You’ll still enjoy all the health benefits plus the classic lemon-pepper match up.