Popsicle Crudités with Dill Dip Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened, or mascarpone cheese
• 1 cup sour cream or crème fraîche
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped green onions
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
• 2 tablespoons chicken bone broth, store-bought or homemade (optional)

• 1 cucumber, peeled
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes
• ½ cup pitted black olives
• 6 small pickles, store-bought or homemade
• 6 green onions
• 5 sprigs fresh basil
• 1 large red bell pepper, for the bowl
• Special Equipment: Long wooden skewers

To make the dill dip
1. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the softened cream cheese, sour cream, dill, green onions, and salt with a hand mixer until well combined. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to meld. If the dip is too thick after chilling, stir in the broth 1 tablespoon at a time until it reaches your preferred thickness. The dip will keep for 4 days in the fridge.
To make the Popsicle crudités
2. Slice the cucumber into ¼-inch-thick rounds. Using a small flower-shaped cookie cutter, cut each slice into a flower. Place a skewer in each cucumber flower, pushing the skewer from the bottom to the top of the flower. Slice half of the tomatoes in half and place one in the center of each cucumber flower, securing with a half of a toothpick (insert the toothpick in the middle of the back of the flower). Place in a vase. Place the remaining whole tomatoes, the whole black olives, and the pickles on skewers and arrange in the vase. Add the whole green onions and basil leaves to the vase.
To make the bell pepper serving bowl
3. Cut the top of the pepper in a zigzag shape. Scoop out the seeds and membranes. Use the hollowed-out pepper as a bowl to serve the dip in.