Lovage
The almost forgotten and underused aromatic herbs!
Why wouldn’t an herb enthusiast or a vegetable gardener not grow these herbs in their garden?
They are’nt an evasive species. They stay put. And a little is all that is needed to spruce up a soup or a potato dish. Lovage’s only crime is to grow taller than most plants.
From the moment a visitor enters my vegetable garden they are immediately greeted by a 2 feet tall bushy plant whose fragrant leaves are immediately mistaken for celery, parsley, celeriac or other members of the apiaceae family.
I like to keep my lovage short by not letting it go to seed. These beauties can grow up to six feet tall.
Their next reaction is to pick a leave, crush it and as soon as the leaves are crushed the visitor is hypnotized by a new scent that smells neither like celery nor anything else that they have smelled before.
It always starts with.
“Oh, you’ve got celery.” That’s not celery.
“Parsley?” No, that’s not parsley.
“It smells great, what is it?” Lovage
“Lovage…”
Next question is always, “what do you do with it”?
Romanians though are no strangers to lovage. There are a handful of herbs and spices that define Romanian cuisine like dill, summer savory, winter savory, tarragon and juniper berries. Lovage is amongst one of them.
Lovage is used widely in soups, especially in Romania and this is how I was introduced to the herb. I’ve an interesting story on how I got my hands on this herb.
This is how lovage looks like. Do not confuse it with flat leaf parsley and celery.
The picture below is that of flat leaf parsley.
And this is celeries in a row.
My husband’s familys’ summer home is at the foot of the Carpathian mountains. The little village is called Ucea de Jos in Transylvania. Most of the families here have someone or rather who have migrated to North America. And it so happens that the mother of one of our friends still lives in Ucea de Jos.
One day we got a call that my father-in-law had send some letters through this family friend who now lives in London, Ontario. We took a day trip to London to pick the letters up and met this family. We were without doubt welcomed to a marvelous Romanian hospitality. During our conversation I noticed the “leustan”—lovage in Romanian and asked our host where she had gotten the plant.
“Oh, that’s from Ucea de Jos, she said. A friend brought it over during their trip back home to visit family. You know of this herb,” she asked curiously.
Before leaving she had packed some food for the kids for the car trip home and for me a small lovage plant that she had cut from her garden. That’s not all I got.
There were also summer savory and horseradish plant.
It’s been more than ten years now and I’ve propagated the lovage and handed out roots for replanting to countless Romanians who we’ve met here.
The smell of lovage in “ciorba” (sour soup) is distinctly of Romania especially during a crisp autumn evening. Thank god this perennial can withstand our winter. It’s even one of the first plants to emerge in spring.
I use lovage for the many different kinds of delicious Romanian soup. I’ve already put away my stash of lovage in the freezer for the coming winter months.
Now as for tarragon I’ve to replant it every few years. Our winters are getting bitterly cold.
Tarragon goes extremely well with potatoes, rice, polenta and potato dumplings.
Just a little goes a long way with his herb. Freeze it or mix it with salt and store the leaves in the fridge. Wash the salt off before using.
Grow French Tarragon and not the Russian type.
Below is the compact French Tarragon with a more pungent taste. A little goes a long way.
Below is the lanky Russian Tarragon
I have them both. I use the Russian tarragon to shade my sorrel. Despite it’s non-usage in my kitchen it has been faithful in my garden; returning every year no matter how cold the winter get. I’ve had this one for 12 years. It’s great for garnishing.
Try pears simmered in red wine, sugar and French Tarragon.
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