I can’t remember when I fell in love with Lavender. It was definitely in my youth. I was born a creature of the senses. Sensation, fragrance, emotion, discovery, risk, adventure…these were pretty much my personality descriptors (oh, and ‘chatterbox’ from many, many school teachers…those that know me will not be terribly shocked). I really enjoyed everything…fragrances in particular have always made my neural pathways spark into frantic fireworks. Running your hand over a glorious profusion of purple spikes in midsummer releases a fragrance that will knock your senses sideways. You bring your hands to your face and inhale the fragrance again…now intimately wed to your own skin. Bees hum, a small breeze stirs, for a moment you are perfectly, delightfully lost in summer.
Lavender lore suggests that Cleopatra beguiled both Julius Caesar and Mark Anthony with the seductive scent of Lavender. Roman women hung lavender next to their beds to incite the passions. On St Luke’s day, a Tudor maiden would sip a brew made from lavender while chanting, “St. Luke, St. Luke, be kind to me. In my dreams let me, my true love see”, while the more brazen 'ladies of the night' [cough...] used the same fragrance to advertise their profession, as well as to attract men through ‘magic’.
Lavender is one of the more flamboyant members of the Labiatae family –named for the lip-like opening of their flowers (labium is Latin for “lip”...settle down...). Her sisters include Thyme, marjoram, oregano, basil, sage, rosemary, savory and hyssop. The flowers are all edible, and those of her sisters enjoy widespread use as gentle ‘notes’ atop a salad, or as a component of fresh micro-greens scattered to bring a freshness to roasted dishes. It has over 28 identified active chemical compounds in its oil with proven antimicrobial properties but a great deal of mystery still surrounds the exact mechanisms behind their synergy [1]. I suspect that (as usual) reductionalist empiricism is not going to give us any truly useful gastronomical insights though. Bless it's precise and accurate socks though.
It’s an absolute bugger to grow from seed, but once established is one of the easiest plants to have in your garden. I always have a bunch by my bed (…), some oil for my bath, and will occasionally brew a delightful tea from a dried bunch with a touch of golden honey. However, what has consistently escaped me over all these years is how to harness this robust smell and flavour in cooking...successfully. She is a demanding wench, Ms. Lavender. Strident, unapologetic. Too much of her is likely to remind you of eating your grandmother’s soap, rather than waking up the olfactory senses with surprising delight…trust me! BUT when you know her well (and it has taken me most of my adult life), you’ll find that she alone can lift a dish from the delicious to the extraordinary.
Do you remember the licentious fires woken in the wedding guests by Tita’s ‘Quail in rose petal sauce’ (Like Water for Chocolate)? –Oh how I wanted to dive into those pages and attend that feast! Well, I can’t absolutely promise that the following Lavender recipes will transport you, body and soul, but I can assure you that your senses will be…woken…surprised…delighted. What you choose to do with those new sense-connections is entirely up to you…(be creative!).
LAVENDER SYRUP
1 cup of water
1 cup Ultra fine granulated sugar (or ½ and ½ with a light, golden honey)
1 tbsp culinary lavender
Zest from 1 large lemon
Bring to the boil, simmer for 10 mins, allow to steep/infuse for an hour off the heat and store in the fridge.
This one has so many delightful applications: Add a couple of tablespoons to a home-made lemonade for Citron Pressé ave le Lavande, marry with lime and vanilla in a seriously sexy mojito, add to your best recipe for strawberry sorbet, drizzle over fresh summer fruits with an equal amount of honey…all of the above really should be enjoyed al fresco in gentle sunshine complemented by the hum of bees, a long idle afternoon and company of your choosing.
SAVOURY LAVENDER SALT
1 tbsp culinary lavender
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp chilli flakes
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp sweet marjoram
Take lavender and two of her sisters, introduce them to some spicy cads, pound them into each other in a mortar and pestle…it’s pretty wild and basic, but sometimes that is necessary. Romance comes in many forms my friends :-)
Sprinkle this on generously bite-sized potato chunks (if you can find some sapphire potatoes to add more purple to the experience, -excellent!) with a generous sploosh of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and some freshly grated parmesan…throw the whole riot into high heat (300°C) for 25 minutes. The aromas of cooking will make you rumble in deep places, -the flavours on consumption might tend towards voiced sighs and murmurs. Again, please consume this in excellent company, but this time by candlelight…
PEACH, LAVENDER & FETTA SALAD
3 cups mixed greens (please, not just a Coles/Woolies bag!) –add some young dandelion leaf, watercress, endive…we want sweetness, crunch, spice…flavour!!
1 red onion
Crumbled fetta (marinated Persian fetta if you want to do it properly)
Grilled peach halves (must be served still warm)
Chopped walnuts
Arrange as suits your needs. I like a generous riot, a parfait melange of disorder and delight, but that’s just me :-) You may prefer a perfectly mathematical and balanced diagram-on-a-plate…whatever rocks your boat! The real trick is in (of course) the…
LAVENDER DRESSING
4 tbsp fresh lemon juice
5 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
½ tsp sea-salt
1 tsp Dijon mustard
I tsp lavender flowers
1 clove minced garlic
2 tbsps white balsamic vinegar
Please make this 1 day in advance…let those flavours get to know each other a bit. This is a light meal, a ‘starter’ even…you have a whole day to decide what you’d like to follow this moment of fragrant delight. Oh, do put some effort into your table setting please. We eat with our eyes as well as our mouths, and the greater story is everything.
Now, remember Madame Lavande is something of a jealous creature. It would be a little gauche to serve all these at the same meal. Pick one for now…file the rest away for the next perfect meal. Take it slowly…
Jianu, C., Pop, G., Gruia, A., Florin, G.H. (2013). Chemical Composition and Antimicrobial Activity of Essential Oils of Lavender (Lavandula augustifolia) and Lavandin (Lavandin x intermedia) Grown in Western Romania. International Journal of Agriculture and Biology, 15(4). Retrieved from https://search-proquest.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/docview/1446362007?accountid=10344
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