By Alisa Fleming - While Organicville’s Olive Oil & Balsamic Vinaigrette had a wonderfully pure taste, the Herbs De Provence really stepped it up a notch in my opinion.  The large dose of fresh herbs tickled my taste buds, literally, I almost choked a bit on one of those little leaves not expecting so much substance from a mere vinaigrette.  I quickly forgave the dressing though, and bowed to its naturally delicious taste.

So what are these magical herbs?  Really I can only speculate, as my taste buds are not exquisitely refined enough to detect the delicate notes, and Organicville masks their secret recipe by simply putting “organic spices” on the ingredient label.  Fortunately for them, I am perfectly happy to continue consuming this obsessively organic product, while letting them keep their exact formula a secret.

For an all-purpose salad dressing, this is my overwhelming top choice.  I couldn’t see the Herbs De Provence letting me down over any greens, pasta, sandwich or otherwise.  The pungent tang of cider vinegar and lemon juice added some shock value to the blend, tempered only slightly by the underlying organic oils.  While potent just to taste, this sharper bite helped the dressing to stand-up in my salads with only a tablespoon or so required, rather than feeling I needed to douse my greens in order to taste an ounce of flavor.  It was also a touch thicker than most vinaigrettes (including Organicville’s Olive Oil & Balsamic), so I was able to pour to suit, rather than accidentally dumping out half the bottle out as a single serving.

Not content to trial this one on my green salads alone, yet not in the mood for a pasta salad, I went fishing for ideas on Organicville's website in their mini-recipe section.  I discovered what they called a ‘quick and easy potato salad’ using the herbs de province.  To my surprise, it wasn’t really a potato salad in the traditional sense, but rather more like mashed potatoes.  I rarely make mashed potatoes, but decided to give this a try as a side dish.  Of course, I couldn’t resist making my own modifications.  Their version involves mashing up 2lbs of Russet potatoes and combining them with one 8-ounce bottle of the Herbs de Provence.  Here was my version (I didn’t measure how much dressing I put in, but it was roughly ¼ bottle, you may want more or less):

Herbs de Mashed Potatoes and (sneaky) Cauliflower

Makes 2 side dish servings

• ½ lb red potatoes, skins on
• 1 cup (give or take) cauliflower florets
• ¼ to ⅓ cup Organicville Herbs de Provence Vinaigrette, to taste
• ⅛ to ¼ teaspoon sea salt, to taste
• a few twists of the pepper grinder, to taste

Chop up the potatoes into 1-inch chunks and boil until tender.  Steam the cauliflower until tender (you may choose another cooking method).  Mash the potatoes in a metal bowl.  For a smooth consistency, blend the potatoes with a hand mixer, and slowly add in the vinaigrette to taste.  I stopped after whipping in a bit to taste test.  Add in the sea salt and pepper and blend.  In a separate bowl, mash the cauliflower with a fork.  Stir the cauliflower bits into your mashed potatoes for easy “chunky” mashed potatoes. 

I liked it, and my husband seemed to as well!  They were full of mild flavor that went perfectly with our simple meat/potato/veggie dinner. But feel free to customize the recipe to your preferred potatoes, or don’t use a blender if you prefer chunky to creamy.  It does make for a very moist mashed potato with the salad dressing, which is why I liked the healthy addition of cauliflower chunks.  They really did taste like potato in the blend.

This is one salad dressing that I will be repurchasing!

My Extra Notes & Tips:

• Last time we checked, Organicville’s Dressings/Vinaigrettes were all made in a dedicated facility or area that was vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, sugar-free, and peanut-free.  If you have allergies or intolerances and are concerned with cross-contamination issues, be sure to contact Organicville to verify that these precautions are still being exercised.
• Organicville uses traditionally aged vinegars and expeller pressed oils.  The primary oil in each of their vinaigrettes is organic expeller pressed soybean oil.  While I would prefer a good olive oil, this does seem to be a best quality option for the old vegetable oil standby.  I will keep my fingers crossed for an upgrade, as I prefer to keep my soy intake to occasional whole foods like tofu.
• Ingredient and nutritional information is available on the Organicville Foods website.

Where to Purchase:  A few of Organicville’s Vinaigrettes, including this one, are available to purchase on Amazon in large, 33.8 ounce bottles (I may have to stock up!).  Otherwise, visit the Organicville website to find a store near you.

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