Bulgarian Dill Potatoes

Dill is a herb that I never used to use in the UK. I didn’t know much about it and certainly didn’t cook many dishes that required it. If it was used it was in dried form in a small glass or plastic container. To be quite honest I wasn’t impressed with it at all.

Then Bulgaria was visited, they use Dill (called koper) in many dishes, not dried but unused fresh dill stored in freezers. I can’t remember many dishes without dill being included and of course everyone grows it here. When it goes to seed, which is around now, the dried plant with seeds still intact are used in the bottling of many vegetables such as gherkins, peppers, etc. There is now waste form the herb.

A potato dish was made two days ago was made with dill, which had such a profound effect on the flavour in combination that we just couldn’t stop eating once started. Simplicity with dill as the sole flavour to the potatoes was the key here. I will take you through the stages.

The potatoes gathered were still in the ground and the dill still on the plant growing in the garden only 30 minutes before starting this recipe. But as long as both are fresh it should still work for you.

Recipe For Dill Potatoes

Serves up to 6 people

40 minutes to cook
Ingredients:


1 kg new white potatoes

1 handful of fresh green dill chopped finely

100 g margarine

Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method:

• Wash the potatoes and cut into roughly 2 cm sq pieces.
• Place in a pan of cold water and boil for 20 minutes or until just beginning to go soft. Whilst this is happening preheat the oven to 220 C.
• Drain the potatoes and place in an oven tray. Spread the margarine over the hot potatoes so it covers them evenly.
• Then sprinkle the chopped dill over the potatoes and season with salt and pepper.
• Place the tray into the hot oven and bake for 15 minutes.
• The dish is ready for serving.

Note:
The dill potatoes make just as good meal when cold or can be reheated with a little more margarine.

Watercress Is Not A Weed

Watercress may look like a weed to most people, but brings back those memories of a crunchy salads with a bit of a peppery bite to it confirming that it is definitely a salad herb. This was something I enjoyed immensely when I was younger, but alas it seems to have gone out of fashion as an outright salad nowadays. I used to gather watercress for the side of small streams where it grew wild, even in the centre of London. The health benefits from this water dwelling herb are far reaching like many other herbs; it's not just the taste and texture that appeals.

Watercress can be cultivated quite easily in your garden. It is well-suited to water that is slightly alkaline which is why it thrives in chalk streams in the south of England. Cress leaves can't be dried and has to be consumed within a short period. Storage life is only 1 - 2 days in refrigerated condition.

Watercress can grow to over one metre in height. The foliage of turns bitter when the plants begin producing flowers. An interesting piece of trivia is that watercress is one of the main ingredients in the mass produced V8 Vegetable Juice and used in many commercially made sandwiches.

This distinctive herb has major benefits when eaten as it contains iron, calcium and folic acid as well as vitamins A and C. It can act as a stimulant an antioxidant, a diuretic, an expectorant and a digestive aid. Treatment for suppressing cancer has also been shown to be positive and specifically helps defend against lung cancer.

Strangely enough many regions consider watercress as a weed as mention earlier and are totally unaware of its potential as a food source. What a shame that education fails in some regions where it grows.

So if you are in a region where watercress grows, give it a try, or try growing it in your garden. It doesn’t take much maintenance grow very quickly and also acts as a great water filter in ponds. As long as you crop and eat it regularly it will be a great addition to the dinner table with health benefits written all over it.

Top Image from Wikipedia
Bottom Image from www.news.bbc.co.uk