Volunteer dill peeks in window

Oh, Joy!

Dill is a versatile herb, one that I really use in cooking. First planted in 2005, I’ve never had to buy another plant. I love volunteers, but this is different! This monster dill has found a place it loves.

Monster dill

The Dill, looking somewhat Dr Suess-y

This dill seeded itself next to the potted mother plant, stashed there during Fall patio cleanup. When Tractor Man isn’t tractoring, he looks out this west-facing window and the wispy feathery leaves have been growing up this early Spring to peek in at him.  They don’t call it weed for nothing.

Some dill to cook with and some to dry

Some dill to cook with and some to dry

Dill is easy to grow in most every garden and it reseeds enthusiastically. You can plant it along with cucumbers but not next to tomatoes for some reason.  Deer don’t bother it.  It can grow in containers just fine. To cut it take the side fronds, an 8″ piece yeilds about a tablespoon of chopped dill for cooking.

To dry it, cut off the smaller fronds and discard the stems, spread it out in a shallow tray or cardboard box. Cover it with cheesecloth if you leave it outside in the shade. When it feels absolutely dry you can crumble it up and keep in a small jar.

So what can I do with my dizzying deluge of dill?  Besides drying some for later use, here are two (or more) things:

Oven Cajun-dill Salmon with Brown rice
This is my salmon and tartar sauce recipe and Alton Brown’s oven brown rice, the easiest, most reliable way ever to cook brown rice!  You can also add seasonings like a dry soup mix of your choice.

Brown Rice
1 1/2 cups brown rice
1 T butter
1 t salt or seasoned salt
2 1/2 cups boiling water
Cover and bake at 375 for 1 hour
Salmon
Lay salmon pieces in a glass pan
Sprinkle with dried or fresh dill and Cajun seasoning
No oil or water needed
Put in the oven 20 minutes before the rice is done to serve them together.
Tartar sauce
mayonnaise
relish to taste
dill to taste

This is what I made last night to serve with roast chicken and a green salad.

Easy Cheddar-dill Bread

Easy Cheddar-dill Bread

Cheddar-dill Beer Bread
While looking for dill recipes, I found this one from Alton Brown, a great cook. This bread turned out nice and soft, was fast to make, tasted great warm and was a nice savory bread that cut easily for sandwiches. I’m impressed!

2 cups  all-purpose flour
1 cup wheat flour
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh dill (or 2 teaspoons dried)
1 cup finely grated sharp cheddar cheese
12 ounces cold beer, ale or stout  (I used Fat Tire ale)
1 to 2 tablespoons sunflower seeds, optional

Heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Coat the inside of a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan with the nonstick spray and set aside.
Whisk together the all-purpose flour, wheat flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and dill in a large mixing bowl. Add in the cheese and stir in the beer just to combine. Spread the batter, which will form into a ball, evenly in the prepared pan. Sprinkle with the sunflower seeds, if using. (I moistened the top with beaten egg and we didn’t have sunflower seeds,  I used chopped walnuts)
Bake on the middle rack of the oven about 45 to 55 minutes.
Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Transfer the loaf to a cooling rack for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing and serving. Serve warm with dinner.

Additional things to add:
1 teaspoon dried rosemary, or
1 teaspoon dried oregano, or
1 teaspoon dried thyme, and 2 minced garlic cloves
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives, 1/2 cup chopped scallions

Rosemary-Feta
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary and 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

Italian
1 teaspoon each dried basil and oregano
2 minced cloves of garlic, and 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan

Lunch for Tractor Man
Lunch for Tractor Man

OK, so looking for more dill recipes…
Potato salad
Cucumber, dill and onion salad
Sliced green onions, diced celery, carrot, and cucumbers, maybe some cubed chicken, and finely chopped dill
Chicken, veggies and rice with dill
Snipped dill in scrambled eggs
Dill ricotta cheesy spread/crepe filling
Herbed gnocchi with dill and Pecorino
Ooooh, dill “pesto”, with olive oil, garlic, lemon zest and lemon juice stuffed under the skin of a roast chicken

More:
Dill Cream Sauce
For veggies, chicken or fish
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
Dash of pepper
1-2 T chopped fresh dill
Melt butter, remove from heat; add flour and mix until smooth.  Add milk and cook until thickened, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat, add salt and pepper.

Tuna-Dill Pasta Salad
I recreated this recipe long ago from Take Ten, a sandwich shop near my work. It sounds like a lot of dill, but in this it’s great.  Season to your taste and add until it’s right for you.

1 Package small shell macaroni
2 green peppers chopped to 1/2 inch size
1 can  tuna (in water)
2-4 T fresh chopped or dried dill weed
1 t Garlic Salt
½ cup Mayonaise (sometimes you need more)

Boil the pasta, drain.  Pour into a big mixing bowl; add the green peppers, dill and tuna.  Add Mayo….stir and refrigerate.  Soooo good, especially in summer.

***

Update: By the end of May, I have harvested most of the dill fronds and the seed heads, about 6-7 inches across are still on the plant, which has continued to grow.

Dill seed heads

Dill seed heads

Harvested dill, enough for a whole lotta salmon

Harvested dill, enough for a whole lotta salmon

11 comments

  1. Curbstone Valley Farm -

    I love dill. I also enjoy hunting for the rogue plants that pop up in the veggie garden unexpectedly. We had a lovely crop growing on the edge of our cold compost pile recently! I used a lot of fresh dill last year, with salmon, and canning pickles. I think I may just have try that cheddar-dill beer bread recipe though. Can’t imagine Mr. CV refusing that 😉

  2. Sue Langley -

    Clare, I’m definitely going to make this again and mostly because it held together when slicing, so made great sandwiches. Very practical when you can make such a fast loaf of bread and with lots of combinations. Can you tell I’m jazzed?
    I know what you mean about volunteers. I found a deer grass sprout hiding under the mother plant the other day. Nice…, when they are 7.50 at the nursery!

  3. Sue Langley -

    I’m a simple cook, as well, Mouse, so I hope do try this bread with whatever herbs you may have, you’ll love it.
    I haven’t tried veggies as I have no deer fence yet, but the deer don’t like thyme, marjoram, oregano, sage, parsley, dill or chives and I can use them in the planting beds, especially thyme and marjoram make a good edgings.

    One of my favorite chicken recipes is a whole chicken (don’t listen Frodo) a quarted lemon and a handful of thyme stuffed insde , throw it in a crock pot, no water or anything and cook on low for 8hours. It makes two inches of liquid you can gravy up and though not brown, is the most flavorful chicken ever know in history….that good!

  4. Country Mouse -

    I like that idea of using thyme and marjoram. I could put that between the rock edgings of the beds 🙂

  5. Country Mouse -

    I like that idea of using thyme and marjoram. I could put that between the rock edgings of the beds 🙂

  6. Desiree -

    I also love dill, but it’s so hard to come by. Here, fennel seems to be more popular. I tried growing it myself some years back, but it grew very spindly and lanky and didn’t toughen up into a sturdy plant. It ended up falling over limply and that was that. I suspect I didn’t have it growing in a sufficiently sunny spot and possibly over-watered it.
    Yours look marvellous and I love your recipes…thank you for sharing them.

  7. Nell Howard Stelzer -

    Sue,the beer bread sounds great, seems very easy and the chicken ,also ! I did not know the facts about the herbs that deer do not like. Thanks for sharing those,too !

    • Sue Langley -

      Thanks, Nell,…if we’re going to be buying beer in blue bottles we need recipes like this! Ha! Do you have deer?

  8. Nell Howard Stelzer -

    Sue,the beer bread sounds great, seems very easy and the chicken ,also ! I did not know the facts about the herbs that deer do not like. Thanks for sharing those,too !

    • Sue Langley -

      Thanks, Nell,…if we’re going to be buying beer in blue bottles we need recipes like this! Ha! Do you have deer?

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