Dilled Mustard Sauce

Makes 11/2 cups

Active time: 10 minutes

Start to finish: 10 minutes

VARIATIONS

Substitute chopped watercress for dill.

Substitute smooth mustard for grainy mustard.

A romatic fresh dill is frequently paired with sharp mustard, and this sauce goes nicely with many sausages such as Bockwurst and Dilled Salmon Sausage.

1/2 cup whole grain mustard

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 cup chopped fresh dill

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Combine mustard, cream, 1/4 cup water, oil, and sugar in a mixing bowl. Whisk well, add dill, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Whisk well again. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Note: The sauce can be made up to 3 days in advance and refrigerated, tightly covered.

Mustard was considered a medicinal plant rather than a culinary one. In the sixth century BCE, Greek scientist Pythagoras used mustard as a remedy for scorpion stings. A century later, Hippocrates used mustard in a variety of medicines and poultices. Mustard plasters were applied throughout the centuries to cure toothaches and a number of other ailments.