Dill

Be it a jar of pickled or salted cucumbers in New York, salmon wrapped in dill in Sweden, dill sauce in Germany, or potatoes served with dill in Russia, dill is known, yet, not equally popular, everywhere. Rich with vitamins (C and A) and magnesium, dill is considered one of the world's healthiest herbs. There are two types of essential healing components (I will not go in details of their names) that work miracles. They protect against bone loss, free radicals, stomach aches, and insomnia. 

The green leaves, flat seeds, and yellow flowers have been used for centuries. If not worldwide, then most certainly in Scandinavia, Russia, and Mediterranean countries. In Greek and Roman cultures, dill was a sign of wealth.

As with every herb, there are seeds, fresh and dried options to use, but with dill, whatever possible, one should go with the fresh, used in the shortest time after picking, when the leaves are still light as feathers and aroma attract your nose from afar. Summer is the best time to indulge with dill, yet you can and should keep some summer dill for winter by simply freezing them in containers or chopped in ice cubes with water.

There is one problem for me when using dill. The taste is so strong that a glass of wine is killed with a single bite, but otherwise, dill is a pure joy to use. Substitute mint with dill when making tzatziki, or mix a dill yogurt sauce adding some garlic and honey (I add basil and tarragon too). Salmon and trout (fresh, cured, or baked) have the best friendship with dill, as does chicken and lamb. Eggs, especially creamy, love dill as a friend (cocotte, omelet, quiche). And then there are vegetables like potatoes, cucumbers, tomatoes, zucchini, fresh peas, fava beans, and carrots, that brighten up when mixed with dill. And do try to sprinkle some dill on a smooth hummus, where hemp seed oil has been poured over before adding dill. My favorite recipe is to mix cucumbers with dill, basil, oregano, salt, pepper, sweet onion, and olive oil, leaving it all to marinate for a few hours before eating. And try a salad (quinoa, freekeh or barley) with dill, cucumbers or zucchini and raisins. Beautiful.