Recipe: Dilled Lettuce Salad (with Dill Dressing)

DILLED LETTUCE SALAD

1 small cucumber
10 cups torn lettuce (such as butterhead or Boston)
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved (optional)
Dill Dressing (recipe follows)

Peel cucumber. Cut in half lengthwise and scoop out and discard any seeds. Slice thinly.

In a large salad bowl, combine cucumber, lettuce and tomatoes, if using. Pour over salad and mix lightly.

DILL DRESSING
Makes about 1/2 cup

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed*
1/8 teaspoon salt
Pinch of coarsely ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/3 cup vegetable oil

In a medium bowl, mix vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, dill weed, salt and pepper. Using a whisk or fork, gradually mix in oils until blended and slightly thickened.

*For the most delicate flavor, use dill weed (the crumbled, dried leafy tendrils of the dill plant) rather than dill seed. If dill weed isn't available, substitute 1/8 teaspoon dill seed.

Makes 6 to 8 servings
From: Annette Gooch, Universal Press Syndicate
Source: Columbus Dispatch, December 26, 2007