Lovage

Lovage (Levisticum officinale) is a tall, hardy perennial herb of the carrot family with a flavour often described as celery turned up to full volume — savoury and green, with a warming, anise-and-parsley edge and a depth so meaty it is frequently likened to a stock cube. Every part is fragrant and usable: the glossy divided leaves, the thick hollow stems, the parsnip-like root and the small ribbed seeds. A backbone of European broths, stocks and soups, it is the herb that gives a vegetable stock its rounded, almost brothy savour, and its seeds and leaves also season breads, pickles, salads and potato dishes.