Berry and Arugula Salad with Vanilla Bean Vinaigrette

Berries are summer in your mouth. They just are. Bright and colorful, sunny and sweet, bursting with thirst-quenching awesomeness. I pretty much stuff my face with berries at all times throughout the season. So imagine my surprise when just last year – already three decades of berry-enjoyment under my belt – my mind was blown in a berry big way.

It was during a little girls’ weekend back in SoCal. My friend Erin and I were enjoying lunch al fresco at Nordstrom Cafe. Shopping, sunshine and girl talk. It was a good day. And then the food arrived. And it turned into a stupendous day.

My wood-fired, thin-crust tomato-basil pizza looked and smelled dynamite: fresh, juicy tomato slices and bright green basil artfully arranged atop oozing, gooey, delightfully flame-kissed mozzarella. Mouthwatering promptly ensued.

Then I took a glance across the table at Erin’s lunch of choice. And that’s when shit got real. I was slapped in the face with order-envy. Big, brilliant berries glistened proudly in the sunshine, plump jewel-toned orbs of juiciness singing their siren song, nestled enticingly in a bed of vibrant greens, peppered with snow-white goat-cheese crumbles. It. was. beautiful. I waited patiently for an invitation to the salad party, eagerly stabbing up a bite the very moment it was offered, and realized within nanoseconds that my pizza, which had seemed so tantalizing mere seconds ago, would now fall woefully short.

It wasn’t for lack of deliciousness on the pizza’s part; it just wasn’t a fair fight. This salad was special. It wasn’t the zippy greens – any ol’ salad can have zippy greens. And while they made a delightfully cool and creamy addition, it wasn’t the goat-cheese crumbles – goat-cheese crumbles are a dime-a-dozen. It wasn’t even the sweet, juicy berries, seemingly plucked fresh from the bush. No, it was the dressing that really brought the A-game. A vanilla bean vinaigrette. The subtle sweetness and nectarous perfume of vanilla bean and fresh honey emboldened with a light, tangy champagne vinegar lightly coated each and every leaf, just enough to be sexy, but still leaving a little something to the imagination. It was a game-changer. I vowed right then and there to recreate it as soon as I returned home.

Clearly, the vinaigrette is the real star here, but with a salad like this, quality ingredients are soooooo important, so make sure you’re using only the tastiest berries. I used baby arugula for the base, but you could use baby spinach too, or even Bibb lettuce. I like the darker greens against the berries and sweet vinaigrette though.

If you’re looking to up your summertime salad game, look no further.

Print Recipe

Berry and Arugula Salad with Vanilla Bean Vinaigrette

A summer salad like no other. You will have a bunch of vinaigrette leftover, so if you're making a salad for one, you can cut the vinaigrette recipe in half or quarter it (depending on how much dressing you like), or just store the leftover dressing in a jar in the fridge for future salad enjoyment. I won't judge if you just decide to drink it instead - it's pretty tasty.

Votes: 7
Rating: 4.57
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Courses

Salad

Prep Time

2 minutes

Servings

MetricUS Imperial

Ingredients

• Salad:
• 2-3 heaping handfuls arugula
• 1 cup fresh berries (I used blackberries blueberries, raspberries and strawberries)
• 3-4 Tbsp goat cheese crumbles
• Vinaigrette:
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 3 Tbsp champagne vinegar
• 1 Tbsp raw honey
• 2 Tbsp vanilla bean paste
• 1/4 tsp salt

Courses Salad Prep Time 2 minutes Servings MetricUS Imperial Ingredients Salad: 2-3 heaping handfuls arugula 1 cup fresh berries (I used blackberries blueberries, raspberries and strawberries) 3-4 Tbsp goat cheese crumbles Vinaigrette: 1/2 cup olive oil 3 Tbsp champagne vinegar 1 Tbsp raw honey 2 Tbsp vanilla bean paste 1/4 tsp salt

Votes: 7 Rating: 4.57 You: Rate this recipe!

Instructions

1. Whisk together all the vinaigrette ingredients, then toss desired amount with arugula. I do a little drizzle over the top of the greens, toss it around with my (clean) hands, taste a leaf and adjust accordingly. Start small, you can always add more dressing. Leaves should all be lightly coated, not swimming in dressing. I like to toss the dressing and greens in a big mixing bowl, then plate the dressed greens. It's prettier. 🙂
2. Add the berries and goat cheese and dig in.