Hungry Caterpillar...

eating lovage.... another black swallowtail host plant.

 

These days, lovage is less commonly used and, as with anchovies, celery and olives, its intense bitter savouriness doesn’t please some, my wife included. I love it, but a little care is sensible when using it.

 

Every part of the plant is edible, with the leaves and seeds the loveliest to use. Their flavour is somewhere between celery, yeast and intense vegetable stock; the seeds are a little sweeter than the leaves. I think of it mostly as vegetable stock in leaf and seed form and I use it most in the base of soup or stew, where its flavour is lent to the whole. That said, it should be let loose once in a while: a little chopped lovage on tomatoes is so good, as is a sprinkling of seeds on bread before baking, and try it in combination with cheese and apple, or mussels cooked in cider. Pick leaves and seeds as you like, prioritising the tender young leaves, which are best for eating raw. The hollow stems are like soft bamboo and make a fine flavoured straw for a Bloody Mary.

 

 

Done