The key to a vinaigrette is a certain amount of acidity, sweetness, salt and oil. I suppose that is the secret to cooking in general---balance. Anyway, I think it is fun to use other ingredients on salads beyond vinegar or lemon juice.
In this recipe I juiced rhubarb to replace the vinegar. Rhubarb has a lot of acidity and has a unique sweet/tart quality. It's also not around all year. In Minnesota, it is recommended to stop cutting it around July 4th to ensure many years of bountiful stocks. I love rhubarb; it dances on the sweet and savory line.
This dressing could be used for most any salad, but for my demo at Durango Natural Foods Co-op, I kept it in the spring mood with an assortment of wild greens and pea shoots. That being said, a great spring salad to accompany this dressing would be shaved asparagus (just use your peeler to take off thin slices), toasted almonds and pea shoots, perhaps a light dusting of Parmesan or some chunks of pulled mozzarella.
