By Katy Wilkens, MS, RD

My new favorite herb is lovage. What’s not to love about an herb that grows 6 feet tall? The leaves look a lot like celery, and the flavor is celery-like, maybe a bit stronger. But the plant! I planted a 4-inch pot last summer to try it out. A novelty herb, I thought. Now I use it in everything, and it has rewarded me by growing taller than I am.

If you are going to grow this versatile herb, be sure you have plenty of room for it. It likes moist soil, and will reward you with more leaves, stems and seeds than you can use. It is so prolific I have stopped growing celery – I just count on my lovage to carry me through. If you haven’t planted any this year, it’s not too late. Or try a local farmers market.

One of my favorite uses for fresh herbs when there’s abundance is to make herb vinegars or simple syrups.
Use the vinegar on salads, or drizzled with olive oil over roasted vegetables. It is simple to make: just add 4-6 cups chopped lovage leaves to a half gallon of white or rice vinegar. Let sit about a week, then strain and use. You can use the simple syrup (recipe below) to make ice cream, or stir it into a fruit salad, iced tea, sparkling wine or soda water. You can use the hollow lovage stems as straws.

Use chopped fresh lovage leaves in any recipe that calls for parsley. Try it in green salads or tabbouleh. Traditionally lovage is used in cream soups, often with potatoes. You can also toss the fresh leaves with new potatoes and butter for a lovely summer dish, or serve it cold. In the fall, use the seeds much like fennel, adding them to yeast breads or quick breads for a savory snap.

Lovage simple syrup
Makes about 2 cups

2 cups water
2 cups sugar
4 cups lovage leaves and stalks, chopped
In a large pot, bring water and sugar to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Stir about 5 minutes, until clear. Add the lovage and stir to cover all the leaves. Let cool about an hour, then strain and refrigerate. For a stronger flavor, let stand about 24 hours before straining. Keeps about one month. You can also freeze or can it for use in the winter.
Nutritional information (per ¼ cup):
Calories: 195, Carbohydrates: 50 grams, Protein: 0 grams, Sodium: 3 milligrams

Lamb with lovage
1 cup lovage leaves
3-4 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon black pepper
½ cup almonds
½ cup olive oil

6-8 lamb chops
With a mortar and pestle, mash together lovage, garlic, pepper and almonds. Or just finely chop the ingredients. Add olive oil and marinate the lamb chops, refrigerating for at least an hour. Put on the grill or bake at 350 degrees until done.

Nutritional information (per serving):
Calories: 510, Carbohydrates: 5 grams, Protein: 28 grams, Sodium: 78 milligrams

The information in this column is meant for people who want to keep their kidneys healthy and blood pressure down by following a low-sodium diet. In most cases, except for dialysis patients, a diet high in potassium is thought to help lower high blood pressure. These recipes are not intended for people on dialysis without the supervision of a registered dietitian.

[Katy G. Wilkens is a registered dietitian and department head at Northwest Kidney Centers. The 2014 recipient of National Kidney Foundation Council on Renal Nutrition’s Susan Knapp Excellence in Education Award, she has a Master of Science degree in nutritional sciences from the University of Washington. See more of her recipes at www.nwkidney.org.]