weekend herb blogging: In love with lovage
Lovage (Levisticum officinale) is one of my favorite herbs you have never heard of. The herb's lack of public recognition always seems odd to me. It's a versatile herb with a palate-friendly flavor a lot like celery, yet more complex and nuanced. Fresh, young leaves are mellow enough to use whole in a salad, but it also stands up to long cooking in soups and stews.
The obvious presenting flavor of lovage is celery, but the flavor is more complex than that. Along with the concentrated celery is a large dose of the bright green flavor of parsley and a hint of something sweetly earthy. I use it as a celery substitute whenever it is available and find it provides some ineffable extra taste that I really like.
The hollow stem, a section of
which can be up to a foot or more in length and an inch in diameter,
makes an excellent straw for drinks, such as a Bloody Mary, where a
celery flavor is desired. Lovage stems can be candied, like angelica,
as an unusual sweet treat.
Excuse me a moment of excitement, but I just discovered a new trick for lovage stems: sliced lengthwise and put in ice water, they curl like the ridged curling ribbon they make for wrapping presents! This offers all sorts of possibilities from the sublime (make a brush for putting melted butter on corn on the cob) to the ridiculous (edible icons of the Flying Spaghetti Monster). Curlicue garnishes. Hair for Halloween monsters. This could be fun.
Lovage is also a beautiful addition to your herb garden. Unfurling from
asparagus tip-like bundles in early spring, lovage quickly becomes a
hip-high bush of soft green foliage. Gardeners
appreciate lovage because it is easy to grow, tolerating most soil
condition and even a bit less water and sun than large, leafy herbs.
(It is easy to tell when lovage is thirsty; mine, which is in direct
sunlight, droops noticeably on hot days. Fortunately, it revives just
as quickly with a bit of water.) You can often find plants at a local nursery, although probably not at
a 'big-box' store, and seeds are available from a number of sources,
including Territorial Seeds and Seeds of Change.
Better yet, keep an eye out for a plant in the garden of a friend or
neighbor; If you see one, don't be afraid to ask for a start for your
garden. A single plant is enough to supply all but the most avid of
lovage fan - and two will do for even them - and since lovage
self-seeds, there are often small "volunteers" growing around the base
of established plants. Spring (now as I write this) is the perfect time
to divide lovage clumps, preferably on a cool, cloudy day. Midsummer sees flower spikes
shooting to eye level before opening golden umbels that slowly mature into marvelously tasty seeds, something the birds know as well as I. Come fall, the birds and I vie for themature seeds, with my winnings finding their way into stews and breads over the winter.
A perennial that, like tarragon,
requires a period of cold dormancy, lovage is often grown as an annual
in warm climates. If you have to do this, you can save your own seeds,
stored in an airtight jar in the refrigerator, over the winter for
spring planting.
One
of my favorite uses for lovage is in this melt-in-your-mouth ragout of
leeks sauteed in butter, diced tart apple, and lovage that I was lucky
enough to have as part of the nine course tasting menu at the Herbfarm
Restaurant. It is also in The Herbfarm Cookbook, which is a lovely book and one of the better used volumes on my kitchen shelves. The
original recipe calls for halibut, but I have used the ragout on a
number of types of whitefish (sturgeon, halibut, swordfish and so on)
as well as pork and chicken. Although I'd skip the chicken in the
future, it's great on the other two. My version is scaled for two
people, but it is easy enough to increase the quantities for a larger
number. Halibut with Apple, Leek and Lovage Ragout Leek 1 large or 2 medium or 3-4 small Butter 1 tablespoon 1/2 ounce 14 grams Dry white wine 1/2 cup 4 ounces 112 grams Tart apple (I use granny smith) 1 large or 2 small Apple cider or juice 3/4 cup 6 ounces 168 grams Lovage fresh, chopped 2 tablespoons Vinegar (mild and pale - white wine, sherry, rice) 1 tablespoon 1/2 ounce 14 grams Salt 1/4 teaspoon Pepper to taste Halibut (or other whitefish) 1/2 - 3/4 pound 225 - 340 grams Note:
When I make this with pork chops, I usually brown one side of the chop
on the stove before baking it in the oven as described for the fish.
Weekend Herb Blogging is Kalyn's weekly venture into the land of herbs and always offers a collection of international food writers weighing in with delightful ideas for using the goodness that is fresh herbs. Weekend Herb Blogging is being guest-hosted this week by The Kitchen Wench who has her mouth-watering roundup here.