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Ideas for cooking with lavender?

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ScottD

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Re: Ideas for cooking with lavender?

by ScottD » Wed Aug 27, 2008 2:13 pm

I hate to keep resurrecting this thread as were getting out of season, but NYT had a Bittman article about cooking with lavender today. I felt compelled to share. Video and recipes on the site.

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Like rosemary, lavender is a powerful and not tremendously versatile herb, and, like rosemary, it takes very readily to grilled lamb. This may be because in Mediterranean climates, sheep graze on both; the herbs grow in pretty much the same areas, and at a quick glance they even resemble each other.

This summer, with a steady and sure supply, I decided to expand my lavender repertory. It wasn’t difficult; I just stuck to my own rule, using it as if it were a more potent form of rosemary. Broiled chicken or grilled bluefish with lavender and lemon: yes.

But the lavender really came into its own when I combined it with vegetables, the herb performing more like thyme than rosemary.

In my penultimate attempt, I combined a fairly random mound of roughly shredded vegetables with garlic and lavender, and sautéed them quickly. The herb’s gentle perfume (I used a light touch) really seemed to pull everything together in a very Provençal way.

Things got even better when I used more olive oil and combined the vegetables with pasta, and boosted the lavender to where it bordered on assertive.


His veg blend was shredded zucchini, carrots and red pepper
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Christine Cross

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Re: Ideas for cooking with lavender?

by Christine Cross » Wed Aug 27, 2008 2:51 pm

Robert J. wrote:Lavender shortbread cookies are a favorite of mine.

rwj


Yes, at the Sequim, WA Lavender Festval they sell Lavender Ice Cream sandwiches. The cookies had the lavender and the ice cream was vanilla-honey. *drool*
"One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating." -Luciano Pavarotti
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