The Recipe.

I found this recipe while cruising through one of my favorite cooking blogs - Dinner with Julie.  I had gone over to search out Rhubarb Brown Sugar Muffins (highly recommended) and thought, "gee, I wonder what else rhubarb she has up her sleeve?"

Voila!
(from Dinner with Julie - if you don't read this blog, why not?)

Rhubarb Vinaigrette

1 rhubarb stalk, thinly sliced

2 Tbsp. honey

2 Tbsp. rice vinegar (she recommended either red wine or raspberry vinegar, which would be interesting, but rice is what I had - plus it's more on the mild side to balance the tartness of the rhubarb)

2 tsp. grainy Dijon mustard (I did not have Dijon, so substituted my homemade grainy stout mustard)

1/4 cup canola or mild olive oil

 

 

Simmer the rhubarb with 1/4 - 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan for 5 minutes, or until very soft.   I split the difference and added 1/3 cup.   Remove from heat and set aside to cool.  Put the rhubarb into a blender with the honey, vinegar and mustard. Pulse until smooth. With the motor running, slowly pour in the oil.  If you are not in a hurry (as I always seem to be), adding the oil in a tiny, slow stream will create a lovely pink creamy emulsified dressing.  Mine is not - creamy and emulsified, that is - but it is perfectly fine as it is.  This is now my favorite springtime dressing!

 

And the beauty of it, is that I now have a new purpose for freezing my rhubarb - I think this would be very nice on one of my winter chopped salads!