Simple Uses for Lovage

When you have a large crop of lovage from the garden or farmstand, you don't have time to casually include it in complicated recipes or to frantically figure out how to use it up before it goes bad without getting sick of it. You want to make the most of your harvest and to actually enjoy it.

Here at Plant to Plate, we like to keep things simple! Here are some of my favorite ways to use or preserve lovage:

Pair it with nettles such as stinging nettle and dead nettle in a variety of culinary and herbal preparations.

Substitute it for celery leaves in a wide variety of preparations. See our Simple Uses for Celery page here for ideas.

Sauté it with spinach and leeks.

Stirfry it with stinging nettle and leeks or scallions (green onions).

Bake it with beef and Jerusalem artichokes. Add cheese, sour cream, and/or onions if desired.

Bake it with halibut, leeks, and apples.

Bake it with chicken, pork, lamb, or fish dishes.

Grill it with mushrooms.

Roast it with beets and feta.

Add it to quickbreads, muffins, and other savory baked goods.

Add it to egg dishes such as scrambles and quiches.

Add it to sauces.

Add it to hot grains such as oats, rice, and buckwheat.

Make a simple soup. Here are a few ideas for simple soup combinations with lovage:

Potatoes and onions
Potatoes and leeks
Nasturtium, onions, and garlic
Orach, onions, and parsnips

Make a simple cold soup with lovage, cucumbers, lettuce, and peas.

Add it to other soups and broths. The whole plant, both above- and below-ground parts, can be added to soups, stews, and broths.

Top a baked, mashed, or steamed potato with it.

Toss it with green beans and pine nuts.

Toss it with corn and fennel.

Make a pesto with lovage, cashews, and parmesan.

Make a pesto with lovage, walnuts, garlic, and parmesan.

Add it to other pestos, including otherwise traditional pesto.

Make a creative hummus with lovage, chickpeas, beets, and garlic. Blend and combine in a food processor.

Use it as a Base or Partial Base of an Interesting Salad. (Wondering why I capitalized those letters? Read more about Interesting Salads here!)

Make a Simple Salad. A few ideas for Simple Salad combinations with lovage are as follows:

Tomatoes and spinach
Cucumbers and lettuce
Cucumbers, peppermint, and feta
Apples and endive
Red onions and carrots
Stinging nettle and lemon balm
Dead nettle, catmint, and chard or beet greens
Roasted beets, spinach, and goat cheese

Add it to other salads.

Make infused vinegar. Lovage-infused vinegar makes a tasty salad dressing. Lovage can be infused in vinegar by itself or with other herbs such as lemon balm and garlic.

Make infused oil.

Make a tea. Lovage is best suited for an infusion.

Make a tincture with the roots. An herb:solvent weight ratio of 1:5 at 50% alcohol is suggested for a lovage root tincture.

Add it to pickles, especially alongside alliums like leeks and garlic.

Dry it for later use. See our How to Dry Your Herbs articles here for more information.

Chop and freeze it as another way to preserve it.

Further Reading

Growing lovage? Check out these quick facts like its best growing conditions, companion plants, and expected yields.

Lovage is also featured in these articles:

Quick Facts: Growing Lovage