Recipe of the day            Wednesday, July 31

Dill Compound Butter

A compound butter is simply softened butter that has been mixed with herbs, herb blossoms, spices, mustard, citrus zest, anchovies, or other flavorings.  You can make sweet versions (think cinnamon, vanilla bean, and honey) or a savory version like this one, which tastes delicious melted over grilled fish or boiled new poatoes.  Adding herbs to compound butter and freezing it is an especially wonderful way to preserve their flavor for the winter.

1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 Tbsp. finely chopped dill
2 Tbsp. finely choped flat-leaf parsley
1 Tbsp. finely snipped chives
1/2 tsp. lemon zest
1 tsp. finely chopped shallot
Pinch of salt

Place all the ingredients in a bowl (using hand mixer) and blend until the herbs are evenly distributed throughout the butter.

Tear off a 12-inch piece of waxed paper.  Scrape the dill butter out of the bowl onto the middle of the paper  Fold one edge of the paper over the butter and roll the butter into a log shape.  Wrap in the waxed paper and chill until firm, about 2 hours.  Then wrap the log tightly in plastic wrap.  It will keep, refrigerated, for a week, and frozen for 6 months or more.

Taken from the book:  Grow Cook Eat   A Food Lover's Guide to Vegetable Gardening
by Willi Galloway