Easy Herbs: 2/15: Dill

Fifteen Easy Herbs
No. 2 Dill
In the beginning there was dill. Then the cucumbers and fish were created. But dill came first; it’s the horse and carriage story, with dill and cukes, dill & fish, dill & salad.

How to grow it:
Although this is another annual that has to be planted every year from seed, it’s no trouble at all. Just like cilantro, it will thrive in a moderately rich (use lots of organic matter) soil in a sunny spot. Don’t allow the soil to dry out, but it shouldn’t stay soggy, either. Sow dill seeds in spring as soon as frost danger has passed, where they are to grow.

How to eat it:
Stuff the flowers, stems and leaves into the pickle jars. Strew the whole platter of fish with dill. Chop up lots of it for the potato salad or cucumber and onion salad. In short, plant lots of dill! If you grow too much of the stuff, freeze it in plastic bags, because dried dill has no flavor. Save the seeds for next year, and you may have some left to plant if you haven’t used them all up in bread over the winter.
Next time: Tarragon, the little dragon.

Dill Gribiche Sauce

Serve on hot or cold salmon or as a sandwich spread or salad dressing. Adapted from Fresh Herb Cooking by Linda Dannenberg. Stewart Tabori & Chang, New York. 2001.
1 egg
1 tablespoon dill vinegar*
1 tablespoon pickle juice (from dill or sweet pickles)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 packed cup parsley leaves
1 cup coarsely chopped dill, with stems
1/3 cup capers
2 cups canola oil
4 shallots
3 medium-sized crunchy dill pickles
2 hard-boiled eggs, cooled and peeled

Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Add the raw egg, cover, and remove from the heat. Let it stand for 6 minutes, then remove the egg and crack it into the bowl of a food processor. Add the vinegar, pickle juice and salt; process for 5 minutes. Add the parsley and dill and process for 5 minutes. Add the capers, then with the processor running, gradually add the oil in a thin stream, until the mixture is thick but still pourable. If it’s too thick, stir in a dash of pickle juice.
Finely mince the shallots, and dice the pickles. Using a coarse grater (the big holes), shred the hard-boiled eggs. (This is much easier than chasing a slippery egg around on a cutting board.) Stir these into the sauce and season to taste with pickle juice or vinegar. Refrigerate in a sealed plastic container.
*How do I come by dill vinegar? You might ask. Stuff a clean bottle with dill stems, and fill with apple cider vinegar. Put the lid on (or cork stopper), and set it in a sunny windowsill for a couple of weeks, before storing it in the pantry. In a pinch, you can substitute apple cider vinegar in this recipe.