Keep Cool*

I am a bit of a hothead. My husband is not. He keeps his cool. He even eats cool. He likes dill, a cooling herb which he fondly associates with his German grandmother and her weighs-a-ton potato kugel.

Digestive and restorative, dill is a nice source of vitamin A, which you need to keep all your bits, from skin to teeth to bones, in fine form. It’s an easy-growing herb with sweet-smelling feathery fronds and a flavor purported to be mild. Even its name is mild, coming from an old Norse word dilla, to lull. I say unto you, do not be lulled.  Dill can easily overpower a recipe. For all its demure-seeming ways, it’s a nervy little herb.

I remain wary of it, stemming from an unfortunate childhood incident involving dill pickles, which I still will not eat, don’t ask me to.  However, there’s been some detente in the dill department. I enjoy it recipes where it’s kept in check by bolder flavors like paprika and tomatoes. I even created this creamy dill dip which is totally vegan and totally cool.

*Courtesy of Ralph Waldo Emerson, who in 1842 said, “Keep cool; it will all be one a hundred years hence.”

Creamy Dill Dip   

Ridiculously easy, this dip is creamy but creamless, thanks to cashews, and is a stealth health wonder, with beans for protein and fiber.  Great as a party item or for solo snacking.  Serve with steamed or raw vegetables or on chewy artisanal rye bread.

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Ingredients

  

• 1 cup raw cashews soaked for 4 hours or up to overnight
• 2 cups cooked white beans such as navy beans or cannellini — or 1 15-ounce can
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoons fresh dill chopped
• ½ teaspoon sherry vinegar
• sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Instructions

 

• Drain and rinse cashews.  Process in a food processor for several minutes, or until the nuts become a soft white paste.
• Add garlic and cooked beans and processor another minute or two, until mixture is creamy and light.
• Add chopped dill, the sherry vinegar and season with sea salt and fresh ground pepper.
• Spoon into a bowl and serve.
• Makes approximately 2-1/2 cups of dip, serving 6 to 8.

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