More often than not dill pickles have a dill flower in the jar; mostly for the addition of dill’s soothing aniseed flavour, but they do make the jars look pretty too. Dill flowers are best harvested just as they finish flowering and when the tear-shaped green seeds are beginning to set. If you can’t get any dill flowers, then a few dill fronds can be used instead. A true dill cucumber is between the size of a gherkin and a small cucumber, but if you can’t get hold of any, you can use gherkins or small immature cucumbers instead.

Fresh dill is available from supermarkets and ethnic grocers. Dried dill is a perfectly acceptable substitute to fresh, and is even preferred in some Middle Eastern dishes.

Use only the leaves of dill, and discard the thick stems. This herb is popular in Scandinavian and Eastern European cookery, and is added to soups, grilled and boiled fish, gravlax, potatoes and vinegars. In the USA, pickled cucumbers and gherkins are flavoured with dill; in India, it is used as a vegetable in regional dishes. It is combined with yoghurt and soured cream in Greece and Turkey, and with broad beans, rice and koftas in Iran.

More dill recipes

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More dill recipes

Baharat chicken with orzo salad and tabbouleh

Polish-style chlodnik

Ossetian beet tops and cheese pies

Crimean Tatar çiberek with Ukrainian radish and tomato salad

Persian-style oxtail stew

Den-marking your mind up

Nordic smørrebrød with asparagus and horseradish cream

Crab scones

Salmon and broccoli pie

Spring vegetable and prawn thermidor tart

Bunny Mary

Smashed cucumber salad with feta and dill

Simple potato salad

Lamb stuffed matzo dumplings in artichoke and pea soup

Matzo tostada

Chicken and bacon burger

Salmon and gnocchi hash

Chicken skewers with muhammara, poached eggs and moutabal

Roast chicken with tomatoey bulgur wheat, dilly leeks and peas

Dijon and balsamic dressing

Pork chops with roast vegetables and walnut picada

Aubergines in tamarind sauce with baked halloumi and saffron rice

Ranch dressing

Green goddess dressing

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Other herbs

Anise

Basil

Bay leaf

Chervil

Chives

Fresh coriander

Curry leaves

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Herbes de provence

Hyssop

Lemongrass

Lemon balm

Lovage

Marjoram

Mint

Oregano

Parsley

Rosemary

Sage

Savory

Sorrel

Tarragon

Thai basil

Thyme

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