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10 Cool Things To Do With Dill

By Angela on April 30, 2012 in 10 Cool Things to Do With...

So you’ve opened up your Local Box and you’re left in awestruck wonderment at the glory you see before you. Scrumptious squash, tempting turnips, delicious dill! Wait. Dill? What in the world am I going to cook my family with dill, you wonder. Well, besides containing the magical ability to turn cucumbers into pickles, dill is actually a fairly versatile herb. Here are some delicious ways to feed your family dill!

1. Try Hungarian style summer squash and dill to quell hungry tummies and expand your culinary palette!

2. Go Greek for a night and make your own tzatziki sauce! Dill is a main ingredient in this delicious sauce that goes great on a pita sandwich.

3. Dill is an easy, but delicious way to spice up chicken. Lemon dill chicken skewers!? Who could resist?

4. Tyler Florence understands the wonderful potential of dill and seafood! Try out his pan seared salmon with sour cream and dill and you’ll understand too!

5. Potatoes are a staple of American cooking, cook up some roasted dill potatoes if your family seems reluctant to try dill! Potatoes will surely change their minds.

6. Even with summer approaching, we all crave soup sometimes! A chilled cucumber and dill soup is perfect for lunch in any season.

7. If you don’t feel like using fresh dill, hang it upside down by the stem in a warm, dry area of your house and let it dry out. The dill will be ready to store after a couple days when the leaves crumble in your hand. Make sure to store it in an airtight container!

8. Are you looking for a side dish to complete a meal? Rice is a great place to start, add some dill and make garlic dill rice to spice up any meal!

9. Dill is a fantastic way to add some adventure to bread! Dill and cheddar beer bread is an excellent compliment to a hearty soup.

10. And finally, no list of dill would be complete without pickles. I can’t share with you my grandma’s secret recipe, but here’s a great guide complete with photos for the pickle novice!

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Roasted Carrot Soup with Dill

By Kathryn on December 12, 2011 in Recipes, Soups, Spring, Staff Picks, Summer, Winter

This morning, I woke up groggy, grumpy, and stricken with a mean craving for some vegetables.

I had a cookie hangover, courtesy of the 16 different holiday sweets I sampled at a cookie exchange last night.

I wish I could say this was my first cookie hangover of this season, but I am all too familiar with the icky feeling of overindulgence, especially during the holidays. This carrot soup is one of my go-to recipes for post- sugar binge recovery.

Roasted carrots and onions have natural sweetness that brings me down gently from the sugar high, and stomach-soothing dill offers digestive relief. Using skim milk or unsweetened soy milk in place of heavy cream helps to keep the calories down, too, so I can balance out my cookie consumption.

The best part about making this soup the day after a cookie swap is that the carrots and onions roasting in the oven make the house smell like veggies, not cookies. Someday I’ll learn to have just ~~six~~ two cookies at holiday swaps. Until then, I’ll keep some comforting carrot soup in the fridge to help atone for my pastry sins.

Caramelized Carrot Soup with Dill (yields 6, one-cup servings)

3 cups peeled, chopped carrots, about a pound
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cups vegetable broth
1 cup skim milk or unsweetened soy milk*
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

In a large stock pot, cook the carrots, onions and garlic in the olive oil for 25 minutes over medium high heat. Stir occasionally, so that the vegetables caramelize evenly.

Once vegetables have softened and browned, add vegetable broth to the pot. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat, and then use an immersion blender to purée the soup in the pot. Stir in the milk of your choice, along with the dill. Season the finished soup with salt and pepper.

*Check the label carefully when you buy soy milk for this recipe. Many “regular” flavored soy milks add sugar or evaporated cane juice, and using one of those here will result in a soup that’s too sweet. If you must use soy milk with a sweetener in it, add lemon juice or apple cider vinegar to help brighten the soup’s flavor a bit.

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Customer Recipe: Cucumber Dill Soup

By Mason on September 17, 2011 in Soups

Here’s another great customer submitted recipe for a refreshing late summer soup. We love to share culinary inspiration, keep them coming!

Curah writes -

Had to pass on this recipe that I tried out last week when my girlfriends came over. We wanted to do a light dinner of cool salads and a summer soup .. so I decided to try my hand at a cool cucumber dill soup. It was super EASY and very cool and refreshing.

Cucumber Dill Soup

4 large cucumbers — peeled, seeded and chopped. (reserve a small amount for garnish if desired)
1 cup plain yogurt
1 cup milk
Juice of Half a Lemon (or lime)
2 tablespoons fresh dill chopped
1/2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp chopped parsley
Mint for garnish

Process cucumbers in blender or food processor until smooth. Add remaining ingredients (minus mint) and pulse to combine. Chill soup about 1 hour. Serve in chilled bowls and garnish with mint sprigs and chopped cucumber (optional)

Thanks for sharing Curah!

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Israeli Carrots

By Stephanie on April 3, 2011 in Uncategorized

This easy little recipe would make a great vegan Easter or Passover side dish. When I say easy, I mean that all you do is boil the carrots for a few minutes, mix up a lovely dressing with fresh herbs, olive oil, garlic, and cumin, and toss it with the warm carrots. Done and done. As a bonus, these guys taste good warm or at room temperature, so you can mix them up while you’re doing something else, and then forget about them till it’s time to eat. When you’re making a big holiday spread, a dish like this great to have in your back pocket.

Israeli Carrots (from Cooking Light)

1 pound carrots, cut into 1/2 in.-wide sticks
1 garlic clove, chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1. Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil in a saucepan. Add carrots; cook 3 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain.

2. Place garlic in a food processor; pulse 3 times or until finely chopped. Add cilantro; pulse 3 times or until combined. Add dill and remaining ingredients; pulse 3 times or until well combined. Spoon dill mixture over carrots; toss gently to coat. Serve warm or at room temperature.

- Stephanie

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New Year Noodle Soup

By Stephanie on January 8, 2011 in Uncategorized

Raise your hand if you are a victim of cedar pollen right now. Yeah, me too. When I’m suffering from stuffy sinuses, all I want is some spicy, brothy soup to clear everything out. When I came across this recipe, I knew I had to try it. The original calls for a serrano pepper, but mine somehow didn’t make it home from HEB and I substituted a generous pinch of red pepper flakes with great results.

Besides that, there’s so much going on in this soup. There are three types of beans: chickpeas, yellow split peas (or lentils) and borlotti beans. The latter are also called cranberry beans, for the reddish-pink flecks on their skin. They are a bit sweeter and fuller-flavored than pinto beans, but pintos are a good substitute if you can’t find borlotti. I used dried beans that I cooked a few weeks ago and froze until now. The borlotti are on the far right in this picture.

I used Swiss chard, but any hearty green would work. Also, I used whole wheat spaghetti instead of the egg noodles originally called for, as I think they’ll hold up better when the soup is reheated. And I love the addition of fresh herbs at the end, along with a squeeze of lime juice. Oh, and the toppings! Caramelized onions, walnuts, and a bit of sour cream add even more flavor to what already is a fantastic soup. You really need to give this one a try.

New Year Noodle Soup (adapted from 101 Cookbooks)

2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp black pepper
8.5 cups vegetable broth
3.5 oz yellow split peas or lentils (about 1/2 cup)
1.5 cups cooked chickpeas, rinsed if using canned
2 cups cooked borlotti or pinto beans
Salt to taste
4.25 oz whole wheat spaghetti noodles, broken in half
3.5 oz Swiss chard, finely shredded (about 4 cups)
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
2 tbsp chopped fresh dill
Juice of one lime

Toppings:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1 large onion, thinly sliced
Sour cream or creme fraiche
Toasted, chopped walnuts

Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and the pepper flakes and cook until they soften, a few minutes. Add the spices and cook for another thirty seconds, just long enough for them to toast a bit, then stir in the stock. Bring to a boil and add the split peas/lentils and chard to the pot. Cook until the peas are just tender, about 25 minutes. Stir in the cooked chickpeas and borlotti beans. Once the beans have heated up, season with salt to taste.

Add the noodles to the simmering soup and return to a boil. Reduce the heat back to a simmer and cook until the spaghetti is al dente, about 11 minutes. Stir in the cilantro and dill. Squeeze in the lime juice. Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking.

While the lentils are cooking, prepare the toppings. Heat the olive oil and butter in a large frying pan over medium heat along with a few pinches of salt. Cook the onion, stirring occasionally, until golden and caramelized, 8 -10 minutes. Set aside.

Serve right away, each bowl topped with a big spoonful of caramelized onions, some sour cream, and a sprinkling of walnuts.