What can I do with a shipload of dill?

My dill plants are yielding far faster than I can cook salmon, and that’s about the only use for them I have.

OTOH, the basil this year is dying more than it’s growing, not sure why.

Hmmm, dill pesto?

Dry it. I like paper towel layers on top of the refrigerator. Then in winter, you can have tasty dry dill for your salmon. and taters. and eggs. and green beans. and veggie dip.

or you can grow alot of cucumbers and make pickles.

There does appear to be such an animal:

http://recipes.chef2chef.net/recipe-archive/35/188072.shtml

I know, it’s another salmon recipe, but it uses up a lot of dill:

Dill-cured gravlaks

Use fresh salmon. Get a couple of pound-sized chunks of salmon, skin on. Mix up 1/2 cup each of brown sugar and kosher salt, and moisten the mixture with whiskey or brandy until it’s the consistency of damp sand. Rub it all over both sides of the salmon, and sandwich the two pieces together, flesh side together and skin side out. Between the two pieces, put plenty of fresh dill weed, stems included. Put the whole “sandwich” in a ziploc bag and put it in the fridge. Leave it for a couple of days, then rinse off the salt mixture and remove the dill. Slice paper-thin slices with a sharp carving knife and serve it with rye or bagels, garnished with a little sour cream and minced onion. I think you may substitute sea bass or other rich, oily fish.

you can chop it fine and mix it into butter for fancy schmancy “compound butter.” Nice on sourdough bread.

On that thought, you can make cheese-dill bread!

–Adapted from “The Minimalist Cooks Dinner” by Mark Bittman–
3 cups all purpose flour (1 cup whole wheat flour may be used)
2 teaspoons quick-rise yeast (Instant or Bread Machine yeast)
2 teaspoons salt
about 2-3 TBSP chopped fresh dill
about 3/4 to 1 cup shredded cheese of choice (swiss & havarti recommended)

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.
Mix in warm water (about 1 cup, but can be more or less) and mix until a ball of dough is formed. Mush around in bowl (aka knead lightly) until most of the extra bits have been incorportated. Add water by the tablespoon if you have a lot of dry stuff left at the bottom of the bowl.

Grease a second clean bowl and place dough ball in it. Cover with a clean towel and leave to rise in a warm place (not in direct sunlight though). You can rise it as little as 1/2 hour or as much as all day.

Punch down dough ball, fold/stretch into preferred bread shape (I usually use a round, cause it’s simpler, but don’t make it too spherical/tall or it wont bake through) and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Preheat oven to 425F. Bake 25 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Devour immediately. Having no oil, this bread does not keep more than a day or so.

You can also make a kick-ass potato salad with oodles of dill.

Definitely dry it.

Dill is my favorite herb – good in scrambled eggs, cottage cheese, potato salad (as UrbanChic already mentioned), etc.

No, no, people. Not drying. Freezing! It preserves the flavor and color much better. Rinse it, dry it, put it in a ziplock back, press out as much air as you can, and pop it in the freezer. Much better than drying, IMHO.

I second the pickles. Home made pickles are one of lifes great guilt-free (no fat, no cholesterol etc.) pleasures.

If you mix dill, yeast, flour and water you get a dill dough that rises by itself.*

I chop the dill very fine and pack it firmly into a small jar, which is then filled with extra virgin olive oil. I then refrigerate the jar and use it to make cucumber salads, etc. It keeps for at least a year for me and stays nice and green, too.

  • if you don’t get it, read it out loud.

Make dill, potato, and cheddar pierogies!

Dough - 4 cups all-purpose flour, 1 1/3 cup milk, 1/4 cup oil, put some dill in it too if you want.

Mix together and knead, let rest for one hour, punch down and knead again.

Filling - "ship"loads of boiled potatoes, mashed the way you like 'em; loads of shredded sharp or even smoked cheddar cheese, and dill. Just mash it all up together.

Roll out the dough to a very thin sheet (e.g. 1/4th to 1/8th inch thick) and cut out rounds using a biscuit cutter or the rim of a glass.

Put about 1-2 tbsp of filling in the centre of the rounds.

Fold over the dough and pinch together to seal. Make sure none of the filling spills out through the seal or else they’ll fall apart when you boil 'em!

This recipe will make about 100 - 150 pierogies. Freeze them at this stage if you want to keep them for later.

When you want to eat them:

Start a frypan with lots of butter, finely shredded bacon, and onions (if you like).

Cook the pierogies in boiling water for a few minutes - they’ll float when ready.

Remove them from the boiling water and immediately chuck them into the frypan. Saute until the pierogies are crispy on the outside. Add fresh dill in the last minute or so.

Serve with sour cream.

I agree with freezing it. Al you have to do it break off a little frozen chunk, set it on the counter, and in five minutes it’ll be defrotsed and ready to use.

You can also cook venison with it but don’t use meat from a buck. You’ll then have edible dilldoe. :wink:

Wow Caiata, that recipe sounds killer!

::copies & pastes to recipe folder::

It’s a lot of work but it sure pays off! Just posting that recipe made my mouth water. I’m glad that, back at Christmas time, my mum-in-law and I made about 400 pierogies … I still have some in my freezer now, and it’s made for an excellent lunch :smiley:

Second that motion.

I’d make dill pickles by the barrel!

Yum Yum!

You can also make another species of pickles by mixing equal parts vinegar, water, and sugar, then adding a bunch of chopped dill and sliced cucumbers. Let the cucumbers macerate for a few hours, then serve.

Put it in olive oil or vinegar, and then in fancy bottles. Voila! Presents for cheap!

Add it to a 4 cut pot of water with a whole chicken, the root vegetables of your choice, some pepper, a bullion cube, a bay leaf, a few turkey wings and a little garlic.

Boil the mixture for a few hours, drain, put the fridge overnight and you have fabulous chicken broth. The broth can be turned into soup with the addition of rice and some of the leftover chicken and veggies.