What to do with Lovage

[kally]

I finally figured out what that tall, green, celery-like thing in my yard actaully is. What can I do with it please?

[puglogic]

I was just wondering that myself. A friend gave me some and now I'm looking for something to do with it (I never turn down free perennials....)

This one looked good to me: http://www.food.com/recipe/old-fashioned-lovage-and-potato-soup-253324

[herbgeek]

Bloody mary's!
Also good in soup stock, it kind of adds a meaty background flavor (umami). A heavier taste than celery, but similar. I'm not real crazy about it raw.

[Urchina]

+1 on using it in soup. I lived in Belgium for a year and it's a staple in the soups that are nearly always served as a first course in the area I lived in. Take equal parts finely chopped lovage, carrots and leeks, and saute in butter or olive oil until tender and translucent. Add chicken broth or vegetable stock and simmer until vegetables are tender, fifteen to twenty minutes. Add vermicelli, broken into pieces about 1 inch long, and simmer until pasta is done. Season with salt and pepper. Serve as a first course. Even better the second and third day. It should be a brothy soup.

[Gina]

A friend gave me some. I used it when simmering a chicken. It tasted very good - a bit better than celery. Not sure I'd grow it however since the difference wasn't that great.

[herbgeek]

Lovage is good to grow in New England, since celery requires a pretty long growing season. And its a perennial, so low maintenance once the plant is established.

[IshbelRobertson]

It is a popular herb in Scotland, where it is also known as sea parsley.

I use it when I make cullen skink (a potato and smoked haddock soup), if I'm making cheese scones, I add it (sparingly), very finely chopped to the dough, I add it (again sparingly) when I make a jug of Pimms, also when I cook pheasant.

The main thing to remember is that it is very potent, and a very little goes a very long way!