Choosing the right oil for your homemade salad dressing is important because it provides the base, but you may not know that the best one to use is walnut oil.

Its rich, nutty flavor will add to the other ingredients, mingle nicely with vinegar for a simple vinaigrette, or provide a solid base for more layered flavors.

Walnut dressings are bold enough to work with big flavors like bitter winter greens and leeks, and also complement fruit and mild cheeses, like manchego and Mahon.

Walnut oil is one of the healthier oils out there, even healthier than olive oil, and packed with Omega-3 fatty acids, which are important for healthy brain function.

If you have a hard time finding walnut oil at the store, canola oil infused with toasted walnuts will have a similar impact in your salad dressing as the authentic stuff.