My father cracks me up. He’ll sing at the drop of a hat, and one of his favorites is a certain Simon and Garfunkel song. Because my mother and I both like to cook, we talk about ingredients when we get together – so we tend to set him up for musical interludes pretty easily.
Mom: “Launie, can you grab the parsley from the jar on the counter?”
Me: “Sure, do you need any other herbs?”
Dad: (Singing) “Are you going to Scarborough Fair? Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme…”
Mom: (Trying to talk a little over Dad) “No, I think that’s all we need.”
Me: “Sounds good.”
Dad: “Remember me to one who lives there…”
(At this point, Mom can’t help herself so she chimes in and the two of them finish the line together.)
“She once was, a true love of mine.”
So, I laughed a little bit when I opened the refrigerator door the other day and saw…parsley and rosemary. I had thyme and sage in the freezer, so this dip created itself with the soundtrack of my parents singing in my ears.
(Although, I did deviate a little bit – I had some fresh oregano and scallions that were begging to chime in, too.)
And the combination of those herbs with cottage cheese and lemon juice created a bright and lively dip that was so good, that it replaced dinner that night.
Bonus: The dip came together in less time than it would take to sing a stanza of a certain song.
“Are you going to Scarborough Fair?”
Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, Thyme, Scallion and Oregano Dip
Makes approximately 2½ cups of dip.
Ingredients:
- ½ cup flat-leaf parsley
- 4 scallions (white and green parts), roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary
- 1 sage leaf
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme
- 2 teaspoons fresh oregano
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups low-fat cottage cheese (I used Cabot’s “Vermont Style” cottage cheese, but any small curd will work)
Instructions:
Place the parsley, scallions, rosemary, sage, thyme and oregano in a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Pulse 3-5 times so that the ingredients are combined. Add the cottage cheese, lemon juice and pepper and pulse until the dip is well blended.
Serve with crackers and crudite.
(Photos by Launie K.)
