Blueberry, Cucumber, Basil Salad with Vanilla Bean Vinaigrette

Blueberry, Cucumber, Basil Salad with Vanilla Bean Vinaigrette sounds interesting right?  Here’s how this salad came to be. :)

My little garden has started producing. That is to say, my container garden. The in-the-ground garden has some catching up to do. I fell in love with cucumbers last summer, so I made sure to plant some in my garden this year. The lemon cucumber plants (my very favorite) promptly died. I couldn’t find replacement seedlings. I’ll remember that for next year– buy twice as many.  The other cucumber plants are doing splendidly well. It’s amazing the amount of water they need. I water them twice a day and I think it still isn’t enough!  I’ve been reading that they will be bitter without constant watering.  Even a gallon a day!

I picked three goodsized cucumbers on Saturday morning after a hefty dose of summer rain. They were sweet, juicy and crunchy right off the vine. But of course, I needed to turn them into a salad. I had an idea floating around in that brain of mine, but I wasn’t quite sure where I was going to go with it. I just knew I wanted to things together: blueberries and cucumbers. I received a huge amount of basil in my CSA this week, so I decided to use that as my salad greens. It was fabulous.

All of those flavors worked really well together–surprisingly well. The killer part of the salad is the vanilla bean vinaigrette. That’s something you just might want to drink.

Blueberry, Cucumber, Basil Salad with Vanilla Bean Vinaigrette

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Vanilla bean vinaigrette pairs perfectly with a fresh blueberry, cucumber, and basil salad.

• Total Time: 15 mins
• Yield: 4 1x

Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• For salad:
• 2–3 cups Fresh basil leaves
• 1 cucumber, thinly sliced (peel if waxed)
• 1 cup blueberries, washed
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
• For Vanilla Bean Vinaigrette:
• 1/4 to 1/2 vanilla bean, scraped
• 2 Tbsp. white balsamic vinegar
• 4 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp. honey
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper (or to taste)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. Whisk vinaigrette ingredients together or shake in a small jar. Taste and adjust to taste by adding more honey or salt and pepper. Set aside until ready to serve.
2. Arrange the basil leaves, sliced cucumber and blueberries on plates. Sprinkle with the pepitas and drizzle with a little of the vinaigrette. Serve immediately.

• Author: Lindsey Johnson
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Category: Salad
• Cuisine: American