Food

It’s beautiful, hardy for home gardeners, and it’s been a classic fragrance since Queen Victoria made it famous by having it in every room of her house.

But lavender’s use goes well beyond being the pretty sister of the Provencal family of herbs. Its flowers, leaves and stems add a citrusy kiss to everything from vanilla ice cream to butter, all the way to grilled pork tenderloin.

While high-end restaurants have been singing lavender’s praises for several years, it’s starting to make its way into the home kitchen as well.

"Certainly you’ve seen it in upscale restaurants," says Catherine Cassidy, editor in chief of Taste of Home, which features culinary lavender it is August-September issue. "It reaches out to the mainstream in due time, and part of its popularity might be because of the back-to-the-earth movement and finding things that are right in our own gardens."

Lavender is like any other fresh herb. Most cooks use its flowers, but the leaves and stems are common components of herbes de Provence, a mixture that is the signature taste of the Provence region of France.

It can be used singly, in place of rosemary, when cooking beef, pork, lamb or chicken. A little pulverized lavender, mixed with honey, can be whipped into regular butter. The result is an elegant accompaniment for biscuits or fresh bread.

Cassidy was new to lavender as a culinary herb, but as recipes started to come in from her magazine’s readers, the staff realized it had hit the big time.

"I was really surprised," she says, referring to the lavender ice cream and lavender cake featured in the magazine. "It just gave it a bit of spiciness that was very refreshing."

Cook only with lavender that has been cut fresh or that has been dried without any addition of scent or preservative. In other words, you can’t use the stuff at the craft store that goes into potpourri. It’s best to grow your own (and it loves Alabama) or find a friend that grows lavender pesticide-free.

The leaves, stems or flowers can be used, but a little goes a long way, especially if it is dried.

Just to butter you up ...

Joys-of-lavender.com is devoted to lavender in all its shapes and forms. The site has three lavender butters that have a wide variety of uses. Try this one:

Lavender Herb Butter

This herb butter is good for toasted cheese sandwiches, veggies, boiled potatoes, or noodles.

1 stick softened butter
1 teaspoon dried chives
2 teaspoons lavender, minced
1 teaspoon dried parsley

Chicken Provencal
Serves 4

The exact makeup of herbes de Provence depends on the whimsy of the cook — and what’s growing well at a particular season. The mix commonly contains basil, lavender, marjoram, rosemary, sage, summer savory and thyme, and it’s easy to make your own blend.

4 boneless chicken breast halves
3/ 4 cup olive oil
1 lemon, thinly sliced
1 clove crushed garlic
1 tablespoon herbes de Provence, minced

Place chicken breasts, single layer, into an ungreased 13-inch-by-9-inch baking dish. In a bowl, combine oil, garlic and the herbes de Provence; pour over chicken breasts. Top with lemon slices. Cover and marinate at room temperature for 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350. Bake, uncovered, 30 minutes.

Pork variation

Using your same herbes de Provence combination, grill a pork tenderloin:

1/ 4 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons herbes de Provence
coarsely cracked black pepper
salt to taste

Lightly rub the tenderloin in olive oil. Sprinkle on salt, pepper, herbes de Provence. Grill over a hot flame about 15-20 minutes.