lovage pesto
This is the lovage plant in my garden which is now a few feet tall.
By the end of the summer it will grow to over six feet.
One lovage plant is plenty for any garden. The plant grows so big, you’ll never use it all. The taste is very similar to celery and is sometimes called wild celery. The best time to use the tender leaves are April through June. In hot weather this herb can turn bitter, so use it early on for best taste. After flowering, but before the seeds fall to the ground, cut the plant back to about one foot from the ground to encourage fresh growth and save the work of rooting out seedlings.
Every part of the lovage plant is edible. It has a much stronger flavor than the more familiar celery, so only use about half as much in any given recipe. Here I used the leaves to make pesto, but you can use it in soups, salads, casseroles, as a spice for flavoring any dish just to name a few.
Both leaves and stems may be dried for winter use. To prepare the leaves for your spice shelf, rinse the stems in water, then clip off the leaflets and spread them out on a tray until dry and ready to be stored in airtight containers. The seed heads which mature in August should be laid out flat to dry, then put in a large bag and shaken to remove the nutlets. Also the stems are hollow, so they can be used as a straw to sip your favorite summer drink!
cool lemonade with fruit and a lovage straw
lovage stems can be used as straws
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2 cups of chopped lovage leaves
1 cup parsley
1 cup basil
1 whole head of garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup pine nuts, almonds, walnuts (toasted) or hemp seeds
1 cup olive oil
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Blanch the lovage leaves in boiling salted water for about 3 minutes
Chill in a cold water bath, drain and squeeze excess water
Add all ingredients, except oil, to a food processor, process until roughly chopped then drizzle in your olive oil
Note:
I add parmesan cheese if I use the pesto right away. If I make a batch to freeze, I leave out the cheese and add it in when I use the pesto in a recipe.
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