Don't get in a pickle over dill

By CAROL MIGHTON HADDIX
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
Dill offers a taste of summer. Its feathery fronds and seeds find their way into the pickles, creamy dips and salad dressings of the season. Aromatic and assertive, it reminds one of fresh parsley mixed with fennel and celery. In fact, it is a member of the parsley family and closely related to fennel, according to the late Alan Davidson in "The Oxford Companion to Food."
The herb is indigenous to West Asia, but is grown around the world, wrote Davidson. Today, it is especially popular in the Scandinavian countries, Poland and Russia.
BUYING TIPS
Dill shows its age: Limp stalks and fronds should be avoided. Look for bright green color and a strong fragrance. Fresh local dill is available spring through fall; the packaged herb can be found year-round. Occasionally you can find full stalks of dill with their seeds for picklemaking. Dried dillweed has a more muted flavor; look again for a green color, not gray-green.
STORING HINTS
Keep fresh dill stored in a jar of water with a plastic bag over the top. It should last a week or so in the refrigerator.
COOKING SUGGESTIONS
Team dill with fish and shellfish of any kind. It enlivens butter sauces, vinaigrettes, yogurt sauces and mayonnaise. It particularly enhances green beans, cabbage, carrots, potatoes and summer squash, according to John Peterson, author of "Farmer John's Cookbook."
Or try it in this mustard-dill dressing for fish or salads, adapted from "Keep It Seasonal," by Annie Wayte: Grind 3 teaspoons of toasted fennel seeds in a coffee grinder; transfer to a medium bowl. Add 1/2 cup Dijon mustard, 1 teaspoon dry mustard, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 cup white wine vinegar; mix well. Slowly whisk in 1 cup olive oil until thick and creamy. Stir in 1 heaping tablespoon of chopped fresh dill.