The Peppermaster: Blueberry Miso Vinaigrette

I sampled every single maple- and dairy-free vinegar and sauce at the Peppermaster tent in the Plateau Farmers' Market. That's about 20 different condiments. Afterward, everything burned, and I hadn't liked any of the hot sauces at all, "peppermaster" though he self-proclaimedly was. Instead I bought a blueberry vinegar that was incredibly pungent on its own. It had made me wrinkle my nose at it, but that's what a vinegar should be. You don't buy a vinegar because it's smooth, after all.

So how can a peppermaster get away with selling a blueberry vinegar? He calls it blueberry vinegar with black pepper. You don't really taste the black pepper, and it's about the same (or worse, because the black pepper wouldn't be as freshly grated) than having a pure blueberry vinegar and grating fresh black pepper into it (since the pepper is a little muted by the vinegar), but it's really hard to find a really good blueberry vinegar. It's even less common to be able to sample one before buying.

This vinaigrette dilutes the vinegar with yogurt and sweetens it with honey. Feel free to use agave nectar or sugar instead, but I actually have a blueberry honey so that worked nicely.

Blueberry Miso Vinaigrette

Ingredients:
2 tbsp miso
1 tbsp blueberry vinegar (or apple cider, or rice wine vinegar, or other vinegar)
3 tbsp plain yogurt
1 tsp honey
2 cloves garlic, minced (or 1/4 tsp garlic powder)
2 tsp olive oil

Because of the yogurt in the recipe you don't need a lot of oil. I just give it a splash. Actually I'm pretty loose with most of the ingredients. As long as you taste it after to see what it needs more of, you're golden.

First mix the miso and vinegar to get the clumps out of the miso, then add everything except the oil. You can shake it or stir it or whisk it to combine. Then add the oil in a stream as you stir to emulsify it. The vinaigrette only lasts a few days in the fridge, so use it up fast or make a half recipe. It works really well as a dip for vegetables (especially carrots and tomatoes, or any sweet vegetable), and it worked especially well for raw, shaved beets with a tiny bit of orange juice on salad.