Bright, savoury and just a little bit smoky, Burnt Lemon Brown Sugar Vinaigrette brings a lot of flavour to a very simple dressing. The trick is in the lemon: cooking the cut side directly in a hot, dry skillet caramelizes the citrus, softens the acidity and adds a lightly bitter, almost smoky edge.
Brown sugar rounds out that bitterness, while Dijon adds a little sharpness and helps bring the whole thing together. Fresh thyme and garlic keep the flavour firmly in savoury territory, making a vinaigrette that works well beyond a basic green salad.
Why Burn the Lemon?
A lemon straight from the cutting board gives you plenty of acidity, but putting it cut-side down in a hot skillet changes the flavour completely. The surface caramelizes while some of the sharper acidity mellows, leaving behind concentrated super sweet citrus flavour with a subtle bitterness.
Cook the lemon halves cut-side down in a skillet over medium-high heat until deeply caramelized. We add the garlic to the pan at the same time and cook until softened and lightly browned.
Then squeeze the warm lemon juice into a small bowl. Mash or finely mince the softened garlic, add the brown sugar, Dijon and thyme. Whisk in the oil and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Taste and adjust as needed — the finished vinaigrette should land somewhere between sweet, tart, savoury and just slightly bitter.
If you want (and I did want), you can deglaze your pan with that burnt lemon, or a splash of water to gather all those burnt notes. Making it richer and deeper coloured.
Suggested Uses
Burnt Lemon Brown Sugar Vinaigrette is especially good with crisp, crunchy vegetables where that sweet-tart acidity can do some work. Toss it with Napa cabbage, purple cabbage, carrot, red pepper and snow peas for a colourful slaw, then add a little more just before serving.
It also works beautifully with roasted vegetables, grain bowls, simple green salads and warm potatoes. Drizzle it over grilled or roasted chicken, pork or fish, or use it to brighten leftover vegetables and grains.
For our Chicken Schnitzel Slaw, it gets drizzled over the crunchy vegetable mix and again over the finished slaw with hot, sliced crispy chicken. A little goes a long way.
Why I Love It
Burning the lemon sounds like a small thing, but it gives your everyday lemon vinaigrette a completely different personality. There’s brightness, sweetness, savoury depth and that little hit of caramelized bitterness that keeps you going back for another bite.
A good dressing should make the things around it taste better, and this one does exactly that. Keep the ingredients simple, get the lemon properly caramelized, and suddenly your slaw mix comes alive. Your sassy everyday salad takes a little step forward into a new taste.
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Burnt Lemon Brown Sugar Vinaigrette
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: About 1/2 cup 1x
- Diet: Dairy-Free, Vegan
Description
Give your everyday lemon vinaigrette a little push in a new direction. Burnt Lemon Brown Sugar Vinaigrette is bright, savoury and lightly smoky, made with caramelized lemon, brown sugar, Dijon, garlic and thyme.
Ingredients
- 1 lemon
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1/2 cup sunflower or other neutral oil
- Pinch of salt & pepper
Instructions
- Heat a skillet over medium-high heat, with a splash of oil or Ghee, place your lemon halves cut-side down in the hot pan. Add the garlic clove.
- Cook until the lemon is deeply caramelized on the cut side and the garlic is softened and lightly browned.
- Squeeze the warm lemon juice into a small bowl. Mash or finely mince the garlic and add it to the lemon juice.
- Whisk in the brown sugar until dissolved, then add Dijon mustard and fresh thyme.
- Slowly whisk in the neutral oil until emulsified. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper to taste, adjusting the balance of sweet, tart and savoury as needed.
- Use immediately or refrigerate in a covered container. Bring to room temperature and whisk again before serving.
Notes
Store refrigerated in a clean container or jar. Lasts for about two weeks.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Category: Condiment
- Method: Frying
- Cuisine: North American
