Sweet and tart, brilliantly blue, and bursting with nutritious, delicious juice, blueberries are undoubtedly one of the most succulent fruits in existence. And when reduced down into a tangy and totally tasty blueberry vinaigrette, alongside fresh beet greens, creamy tofu feta and crunchy walnuts, these little blue berries truly come to life and transform a simple salad into a superb one.
“What did the carrot say to the wheat? Lettuce rest, I’m feeling beet.”
– Shel Silverstein
“How To” Blueberry Vinaigrette
A good blueberry vinaigrette is all about balance. Blueberries fresh can be quite sweet, and sometimes tart. But in general, as you reduce them down, the tartness comes through much more than the sweetness. So you’ll need to balance the tartness of this blueberry vinaigrette with a sweet ingredient or two to offset the cloying tartness of the reduced berries and red wine vinegar; sweet and funky white miso and natural maple syrup will do just that, rounding out this dressing nicely and giving it a unique flavor, too.
Beyond that, creating a beautiful, blue-tiful blueberry vinaigrette is quite simple, and it’s a great way of imparting an incredible amount of flavor to a dish in a short amount of time.
Step by Step Vinaigrette
1. Heat a skillet over medium heat with a couple tablespoons olive oil.
2. Add fresh blueberries, and cook them until they’re broken down, mashing the blueberries with a fork to help expedite the process if need be.
3. Add a sour vinegar like red wine vinegar, and then something sweet like a sweet white miso and maple syrup, too.
4. Heat the blueberry vinaigrette just until everything is incorporated and smooth, and then it’s ready to go.
“You’ll never regret eating blueberries or working up a sweat.”
– Jacquelyn Mitchard
When Blueberries Are Out of Season
I made this blueberry vinaigrette during the summer, when blueberries were in season. Initially, I had meant to share it then, but I had too many recipes to share, and not enough time to share them all. As such, here I am now, divulging the secrets of this beautiful beet green salad near winter time.
While many places still sell blueberries in the latter half of the year, if you can’t find fresh blueberries, you could simply use frozen blueberries instead.
However, if you’re really intent on buying fresh and locally grown produce, and/or live in a place that only has seasonal fruits, I have a couple alternatives to blueberries that will suit this salad equally as well. The two fruits that are near replacements for blueberries are raspberries and huckleberries.
Raspberries
These bright red berries typically have a longer season than blueberries, and should be fresher and cheaper for a greater period of time. Obviously, this does depend on your geography and the hub at which you’re buying produce, too.
Raspberries are in flavor quite similar, in so much as they are both sweet and tart at the same time, and should work well in this salad as a replacement. Also, raspberries do tend to be seedier, and reduce much more quickly in the skillet because they don’t have that thicker outside layer of skin like the blueberry does.
For an example of an excellent raspberry vinaigrette, check out this Warm Spinach Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette and Pickled Beets.
Huckleberries
Huckleberries are like the blueberry’s lesser known cousin. The deep purple ones are similar in size, sweet and bursting with flavor. They should stand in as an effective substitute for blueberries if it should appeal to you. Huckleberries are somewhat more difficult to find, but they’re an interesting option all the same.
“I’m greek. My body produces feta cheese.”
– Zach Galifianakis
Beet Greens and Tofu Feta, Explained
The two remaining elements of this salad are beet greens and tofu feta.
Beet Greens
Firstly, beet greens are – by my standards at least – the most delicious and nutritious green there is. I wonder how often people buy beets just for their delicious magenta bulbs, but then cut off and throw out the stems and greens attached to them. The thought of it hurts my soul profoundly.
Fresh beet greens raw are truly a gift to your body and to your existence as a human being. They have a subtle sweetness, a nice bite, and a beautiful appearance. You can eat them raw as in this recipe, or you can steam them too, much like you would swiss chard or spinach.
Tofu Feta
Secondly, tofu feta is a necessary component to this salad because its creaminess pairs well with the zippy blueberry vinaigrette. And better yet? Tofu feta is quite simple to prepare: press tofu for 30 minutes, then crumble it up and combine it with lemon juice, spices, olive oil, and salt.
The longer you allow this tofu feta to marinate, the better it will be; a couple hours is good, but overnight is optimal. The reason for this is because once extra-firm tofu has been pressed, it will absorb anything that you marinate it in with sponge-like readiness, so those with the foresight to make this ahead of time will reap the benefits of a more full-bodied tofu feta, one that is saltier and creamier and more complimentary overall atop this beet green salad with blueberry vinaigrette.
“Breathe properly. Stay curious. And eat your beets.”
– Tom Robbins
Why You Should Make It!
This is an incredibly well-rounded, tasty, and salubrious salad with a plethora of textures, tastes, and delights, especially when all the elements are combined and eaten together in a glorious confluence of flavor: the blueberry vinaigrette, tart and tangy, plays off the creamy and salty vegan feta, and compliments the fresh beet greens, bursting blueberries, and earthy walnuts.
Truly, if you’re looking for a delicious, nutritious salad to make from leftover fresh beet greens, then you’re going to love this for sure! It’s simple, easy to make, and superbly eatable.
Beet Green Salad with Blueberry-Miso Vinaigrette and Tofu Feta
Equipment
- Skillet
Ingredients
- 4 cups fresh beet greens, trimmed, rinsed, and dried
For the Tofu Feta
- ½ block (~7-ounces) tofu, pressed for 30 minutes and crumbled roughly
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1½ tablespoons olive oil
- ½ tablespoon nutritional yeast
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Some ground black pepper
For the Blueberry-Miso Vinaigrette
- ¾ cup fresh blueberries
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sweet white miso paste
- ½ tablespoon maple syrup
Garnishes
- Some walnut halves
- Some fresh blueberries
Instructions
- First, trim the beet green stems, cutting a majority of the thick red stem (about a couple inches down from the greens themselves). Then, rinse the greens and then let them dry. Store them in a container with a moist paper towel over the top until you're ready to serve them.
- Next, press the half block (~7 ounces) of tofu between two padded cutting boards with something heavy on top for 30 minutes. Then, after it has been pressed, crumble the tofu roughly with your hands into a medium bowl. Add to that the lemon juice, olive oil, nutritional yeast, oregano, thyme, salt and ground black pepper. Stir well until all the tofu is coated. Also store this in the fridge until you're ready to use it.Helpful tip: the longer you make this ahead of time, the more flavorful it will be.
- Now, in a skillet over medium heat with the 2 tablespoons of olive oil preheated, cook down the ¾ cup fresh blueberries until nearly all of them have broken down. You can press them a bit with a fork to expedite this process. After that's done, add the red wine vinegar, miso, and maple syrup, and reduce it a little bit longer, just until the vinaigrette is heated through and thickened slightly.
- Lay down some fresh beet greens, then some tofu feta on top, then some blueberry vinaigrette, followed by garnishes of walnuts and fresh blueberries.
Nutrition
Did you enjoy this raspberry vinaigrette recipe with a beet green salad and tofu feta? Then consider leaving me a recipe rating and comment before you go!
May you have good food in good company,
That Vegan Nephew
Mmm…. Blueberries & Walnuts!, oh my. Also, I’ve never had beet greens before! Thank you for the introduction.
This was really good and fresh. Beet greens are one of my favorite greens but I”ve never had then raw before. Lovely flavor paired with the blueberries and tangy tofu feta. Very nice.