Several months ago before Covid-19 some friends and I took a shopping trip to Portland, Oregon. We spent the whole day eating and shopping. One of our stops was at an oil and vinegar store, something you can’t find in the small town in which I live. I love visiting this type of specialty store and sampling the great variety of delicious oils and vinegar’s that you won’t find in a regular grocery store. I bought some interesting types of vinegar including an interesting whisky vinegar.

This vinegar sat on my pantry shelf for several months now until I recently hosted a birthday dinner for a friend. I needed a good and quick recipe for a salad. I knew she liked arugula so I used that in a shaved Parmesan blueberry salad with whisky vinaigrette. I got the blueberries at a farm a few miles away, so many parts of this dish are truly local.

I don’t like to buy grated cheese from the store, but shave it myself for better taste (and also because this costs less). For this salad I bought a block of Parmesan cheese and used a veggie peeler for shaving. I added some toasted pine nuts for added flavor and texture.

Everyone at the birthday party loved the salad so much that I decided to put the recipe here for you to give it a try. It is seriously good.

Ingredients

Whisky vinaigrette

• 1/4 cup whisky vinegar
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1 tbsp old style mustard
• 1 tsp Dijon Mustard
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp ground black pepper

Blueberry salad

• 1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
• 1 cup blueberries
• 3/4 cup shaved Parmesan cheese
• 6 cups baby arugula
• Whisky vinaigrette

Instructions

Whisky vinaigrette

Put all the whiskey vinaigrette ingredients into a mason jar and seal it.

Vigorously shake until emulsified. Taste the dressing for seasoning and set aside for later use.

Blueberry salad

Place your arugula in a bowl. Then, add in half of the following ingredients: Parmesan cheese, blueberries, and pine nuts. Add your desired amount of the dressing to the salad mix and toss gently.

Divide the salad mixture into 4 bowls or plates. Equally distribute the rest of the cheese, blueberries, and pine nuts to top each salad. Serve and enjoy!

Serves 4

Did you make this dish? I’d love to know how it turns out! Feel free to like this post and comment or use the hashtag #globaldinein on Instagram.