Recipes from a Desert Herb Garden: Dill

The smell of dill always reminds me of my paternal grandmother's garden, which in turn makes me think of my grandmother's homemade pickles, preserved in a large ceramic crock in the root cellar of her house. That root cellar was a pretty dark and scary place when I was a child, but I would brave the boogey men in there to get some pickles.

Dill is a hardy, drought resistant annual that produces both leaves, known as "dill weed", in the spring and summer, and seeds in the fall. The crisp, clean, taste of the leaves complements cucumbers, potatoes, cream sauces and fish, especially salmon. The more intense, almost anise taste of the seeds is better utilized in pickles, breads and hearty soups.

Native to Russia and the Mediterranean, dill is used in such regional fare as Scandinavian gravlax, a cured salmon dish, and Tzatziki, a creamy, Greek cucumber condiment.

My maternal great-grandmother, who immigrated to this country from Lithuania, used to make a salad of cucumbers, onions, dill weed, and thick sour cream served along side chicken that had been pan-fried in butter. I f I tried to serve that meal today, the cholesterol police would be beating down my door. Therefore, I have come up with a trimmed down version of great-grandma's salad that I think she would enjoy, which I serve along side grilled, ( skinless of course!) chicken breasts.

Creamy Cucumber Salad

4 medium cucumbers, peeled, seeded and sliced

1 medium red onion, sliced thin

1 tablespoon sugar

1 /2 cup low fat sour cream

1/2 cup plain yogurt*, preferably Greek

3 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1/4 cup chopped fresh dill weed

1/2 teaspoon of salt

freshly ground pepper

Place sliced cucumbers and onions in a large bowl.

In a small bowl, whisk together sugar, sour cream, yogurt, vinegar, dill, salt and pepper. Pour over cucumber mixture and chill at least 3 hours.

Salmon steak topped with lemon slices, a few fronds of dill, salt, pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil wrapped in foil and placed on a hot grill for 15 minutes is an easy summer dinner. If you want to invest a little more time, this creamy potato, salmon and dill salad makes a cool summer main course.

Salmon & Dill Potato Salad.

1 1/2 lbs. small new potatoes

1 lb. salmon fillet

1 /2 cup dry white wine

1 cup frozen baby peas

1/3 cup mayonnaise*

1/3 cup plain yogurt*, preferably Greek

2 tablespoons chopped dill weed, plus several fronds for poaching salmon

2 tablespoons lemon juice

¼ teaspoon hot sauce

salt and freshly ground pepper

Wash and quarter the potatoes. Place in boiling water and cook until tender, about 5 minutes depending on size. Pour the frozen peas in with the potatoes right before you are ready to drain them, pour both into colander, and set aside to cool.

While the potatoes are cooking, salt and pepper the salmon fillet and place in a medium skillet with several dill fronds and the white wine. Bring the wine to a boil, cover pan and reduce heat to low, poaching salmon until it flakes easily with a fork, about 8-10 minutes. Remove salmon to platter to cool.

In a small bowl, whisk together the mayo, yogurt, chopped dill, lemon juice and hot sauce.

Place the potatoes and peas in a large bowl. Flake salmon into bite size chunks and add to potatoes and peas. Pour the mayo-yogurt dressing over all and toss. Add salt and pepper to taste.

* Low fat mayo can be used, but the fat free stuff tastes awful to me. I do use fat free Greek yogurt , which is so thick and creamy, it tastes better than the regular, full fat yogurt.

This quick and easy bread recipe that utilizes the seeds of the dill plant, was given to me by my ex-mother-in-law (now there was a real dragon lady!) and produces a crusty, round loaf.

Dilly Bread

2 1/2 - 3 cups unbleached white flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 cup minced red onion

2 teaspoons dill seed

1 tablespoon chopped chives (optional)

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 package of yeast

1 cup cottage cheese (low fat is ok, but do not use fat free)

1/4 cup water

1 tablespoon butter

1 egg

Combine 1 cup flour, sugar, onion, dill seed, chives, salt, soda, and yeast in a mixing bowl.

Melt butter in a saucepan, add cottage cheese and water and heat till mixture is very warm, but not boiling.

Add cottage cheese mixture and egg to flour mixture and beat for 3 minutes at medium speed using whisk attachment of mixer.

Change to paddle attachment and add the remaining flour to the mixture 1 /2 cup at a time until a stiff batter is formed.

Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place until dough is doubles in size, about 1 hour. Stir down dough and place in a 2 quart casserole. Cover casserole with wax paper and set aside in a warm place until dough once again doubles in size, about 30-45 minutes.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes. Cool on rack for about 10 minutes, then run a butter knife around the outside of the loaf to loosen from the casserole, and remove bread to finish cooling.

Next up in the series: Cilantro