dill, dill, and more dill

did you know that trader joe's (at least the one on boylston) now carries a brand of herbs called "infinite herbs"? if only the "infinite" were true. at any rate, the herbs are perfectly good and a whole 60 cents cheaper than herbs at star or whole foods, so i might have to make weekly treks out to trader joe's. sadly, when i moved in june, i moved closer to star and harvest, but farther away from trader joe's and the river street whole foods ("the mother ship"). when i went to get my hair cut i stopped by and made the herb discovery, and pounced on some thyme and dill. thyme is my reigning favorite herb, with tarragon a distant second.

i bought the dill because i like the way it smells. i have had it infrequently in the past few years; notably in a warm green bean salad carrie made for a menu once, and when my mother makes little toasts for special events - she spreads the toasts with cream cheese that has been blended with onions, ham, and dill, and puts a slice of tomato on top of that. carrie and i, needing to use it, decided on a tunisian fish soup, the green bean salad, and some dill-cheddar biscuits. all right, carrie decided to make the soup, and i made some things to go along with it.

the fish soup is a typical tunisian soup : spices, tomatoes, broth, and cilantro/parsley simmer for a while, then you add the fish. it smells undeniably tunisian in a very appetizing way. while carrie was in lab, i made the biscuits as i also made sugar cookies for rob's christmas present, which was longtime overdue. i have discovered the joys of having the tv on when i cook - it provides a source of background noise that's rather pleasant. i could also turn on music, but it's nice to have something to look at once in a while.

the biscuits are from a recipe on epicurious and i didn't really change anything. i did use "mediterranean style" yogurt from trader joe's, because that's what i had on hand. the difference? the mediterranean style yogurt is sharper in yogurt flavor, and is much thicker - more like a thick sour cream, really. it's somewhat close to creme fraiche. anyway, i got enough of it into the biscuit dough before i polished off the rest of it with some honey. yogurt and honey is an excellent combination, especially for those of us who still need to acquire the taste of really strong yogurt.

i would really recommend this biscuit recipe, although i would say that they're more like a cross between biscuits and scones. they are wonderful right out of the oven - all crispy on the outside - but they absorb moisture overnight, even when packed into an airtight container, so you might want to toast them in the toaster oven before consuming the leftovers the next day. i might also increase the dill a bit next time i make these, but that's just because i like dill. i've been eating them broken up in soup...bread soaked with soup is such a lovely wintertime food.

i also really like the green bean salad. suffice it to say, i am no great hand at steaming vegetables because i have no patience. still working on that. the green beans were a bit crunchy, but the dressing is good, and i like adding tomatoes to this salad quite a lot, both for flavor and visual pleasure. it's supposed to be a warm salad, but i like it better cold - the leftovers, after having sat in the fridge for twenty-four hours, were simply fantastic.

oh, and for the record - i drank parmalat straight for the first time (i've been using it for baking) and the verdict is in...suffice it to say i will not be buying parmalat any time soon. it just doesn't taste like milk. it tastes like milk that has been incubated in cardboard for a very, very long time. ew. i like it when milk tastes like milk.

tunisian aromatic fish soup with potatoes
4c water
1 lb potatoes, peeled, halved lengthwise, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices
2 medium tomatoes, peeled, quartered
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2T chopped fresh mint
1 1/2T fresh lemon juice
1t paprika
1/2t ground cumin
1/4t dried crushed red pepper
1/3c plus 1T finely chopped cilantro or parsley
1 lb 1-inch-thick firm white fish fillets (such as cod, haddock or sea bass)
3T olive oil

1. combine first 9 ingredients in large pot. add 1/3 cup cilantro and bring to boil. reduce heat, cover and simmer 20 minutes. uncover and simmer 10 minutes.

2. add fish and olive oil and simmer until fish is cooked, about 10 minutes. using back of spoon, break up fish into smaller pieces. season soup to taste with salt and pepper. ladle soup into bowls. sprinkle with 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro and serve.

[makes 4 servings]

cheddar-dill biscuits
2c all-purpose flour
2t baking powder
1t sugar
1/2t baking soda
1/2t salt
5T cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
2 oz coarsely grated extra-sharp cheddar (3/4 cup)
1 1/2T chopped fresh dill
3/4c whole-milk plain yogurt
1/3c whole milk

1. in a large mixing bowl, place flour, baking powder, sugar, baking soda, and salt and stir until well combined. add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal.

2. add cheddar and dill stir until combined.

3. whisk together yogurt and milk, then add to dry ingredients and stir with a spatula until just combined and dough comes together. don't over-mix, or your biscuits will be tough.

4. spoon 12 (1/4-cup) mounds of dough about 2 inches apart onto an ungreased large baking sheet and bake until puffed and pale golden, 12 to 15 minutes.

[i scaled this by 1 1/2 and it made 24 normal-sized biscuits]

green bean and tomato salad with dill
2 lbs green beans, trimmed and halved
3 tomatoes, chopped or sliced however you like them in salad (i sliced them, then halved the slices)
2T cider vinegar
1/3c olive oil
2t dill seeds (i omitted these because i didn't have any)
1/4c chopped fresh dill

1. in a steamer set over boiling water steam the beans, covered, for 6 to 8 minutes, or until they are just tender.

2. while the beans are steaming, in a blender blend together the vinegar, the oil, the dill seeds, the chopped dill, and salt and pepper to taste. alternatively, whisk together the dressing ingredients in a bowl; if you're using the dill seeds you may want to crush them a bit before you put them in the dressing.

3. transfer the beans and tomatoes to a serving bowl and toss them with the dressing.

[makes 8 servings]

and last but not least, here is the recipe for rob's cookies. they're basically linzer cookies minus the cough-and-choke-inducing powdered sugar. this recipe combines my favorite (and standard) butter cookie recipe with a raspberry jam filling.

rob's favorite cookies
for the cookies
2c all-purpose flour
1/2t salt
1/4t baking powder
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1c sugar
1 large egg
1/2t vanilla
1t almond extract (for regular sugar cookies, omit the almond extract)

for the filling
1 large jar seedless raspberry jam (i use smucker's)
1t lemon zest
1/2c amaretto or raspberry liqueur (optional)

1. make the cookies : in a large bowl, cream the butter, then mix in the sugar until well combined. add the egg and mix until well combined; then add the vanilla and almond extracts. add the flour, baking powder, and salt and mix until the dough comes together and is mixed well. while you want the dough to be a uniform texture and color, you don't want to overmix or your cookies will be tough. divide the dough in half and form it into two discs. wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least an hour.

2. preheat the oven to 350F. roll out one of the discs of dough between two sheets of plastic wrap, to about 1/8" thickness (slightly thicker is ok, but 3/16" is as thick as it should be). slide onto a cookie sheet and place in the freezer for 10-15 minutes, until the dough is stiff. put the dough on your work surface and peel off the top layer of plastic wrap. use cookie cutters to cut out your cookies (i'm partial to 3" and 2" square fluted cookie cutters). i find that the best way to do this is to cut all 3" cookies and transfer them to the cookie sheet, then cut out the middles of half of the cookies once they're on the cookie sheet. you'll get more nicely-shaped cookies that way. when you're cutting the middles of the cookies out, press the cutter down and leave it there. to get the middle out, lift the cutter so that one corner is still stuck in the cookie, and basically dig the middle out - this will lift the corner of the part you're cutting out so that you can lift it out entirely, without messing up the rest of the cookie. i like to have four cookies across on the cookie sheet, alternating top and bottom, so they cook evently.

3. when you're done filling a cookie sheet, stick it in the freezer for 5-10 minutes. bake in the middle of the preheated oven for about 10-12 minutes, until they're pale golden (and golden on the edges). you might want to watch them so they don't overbake. if they do overbake, it's purely an aesthetic consideration - the cookies will still be quite good. let cool for a few minutes, then transfer to a plate. reroll the scraps of dough and finish making cookies.

4. make the filling : in a saucepan, combine the raspberry jam, lemon zest, and liqueurs (if using). heat over medium heat and simmer until the mixture is reduced by half. stir every now and then so the sugar in the jam doesn't burn; you will want to watch this fairly carefully. this takes maybe 20 minutes or so, depending on whether you add liqueur - it will take less time if you don't use the liqueur.

5. assemble the cookies : while the filling is still warm, take a cookie top, flip it over and brush its underside with filling. place on a cookie bottom and spoon a teaspoon of filling in the cutout, spreading it to fill the cutout. since the filling will be hot, take care that you don't drip it on the cookie. place on a plate and let cool. don't stack the finished cookies while they're cooling, or they'll stick together. if you aren't going to serve these at once, you might want to sprinkle the exposed filling with granulated sugar once the cookies have cooled, since the filling will still stick to anything, including reynolds release wrap. do not use powdered sugar. store in an airtight container. the cookies, after they've cooled, will retain their crispy nature but will absorb a bit of moisture from the filling and end up as crispy-chewy.

[makes about 2 1/2 dozen 3" square cookies]