Lavender: A Taste of Provence
by Julie Mautner

Visualize the landscape of the South of France. What one image comes to mind? Probably lavender—all those spectacular purple fields swaying in late-summer sunshine. In Provence, lavender is big. You see it everywhere and you smell it in the breeze. If it weren't for lavender, the postcard and poster people might very well go broke. Lavender distilleries dot the countryside and there's even a lavender museum. It's the rare gift shop in Provence that does not sell dried lavender sachets or lavender-scented toiletries. Like the tulips in Holland in May, lavender explodes into color just once a year, usually the last two weeks in July.

 The early Romans and Greeks bathed in lavender-scented water and, to this day, most people associate the clean, flowery scent with soap and perfume. The word lavender, in fact, comes from the Latin lavare, meaning to wash. But lavender has always had its place in the kitchen as well.

In the days before vanilla became readily available, cooks used a variety of fruit and flower essences for flavoring. Lavender, for its part, was particularly popular in teas, cakes, meat dishes, quick breads, biscuits and beverages. All lavenders are members of the Lamiaceae family, to which most culinary herbs (including mint, basil, oregano and sage) also belong. While English Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia or officinalis) is most commonly used for perfume and soap, it's usually French Lavender (Lavandula dentata) that's found in the kitchen. Today you come across it in French and French-inspired dishes in both France and the United States.

Cook with lavender as you would with most herbs: go lightly at first, then add more as needed. The darker the blossom, the more intense the flavor. "Use restraint," cautions chef Joe Simone, of the PBS series The Chefs of Cucina Amore. "Lavender is extremely potent. Using too much will make whatever you cook taste like your grandmother's lingerie drawer!"

The most common culinary use of lavender is in the seasoning mixture called herbes de Provence. To this blend of thyme, savory, basil and fennel, lavender adds a light perfume as well as a hint of citrus-which makes it ideal for use with fish, grilled meats and stews. You can also use it in red sauces for pasta or pizza, as well as in marinades and dry rubs, and it makes a great garnish on salads and appetizers.

At the Milwaukee Country Club, chef Olivier Bidard loves the subtle taste of lavender with fish and seafood, but stresses that it's important to use a sweet, meaty fish. With fresh sea scallops or arctic char, for instance, Bidard will make a beurre blanc-type sauce using white wine, shallots, butter, a dash of lemon and lightly blanched fresh lavender. (Dried lavender is fine, too.) "The taste and smell of lavender with fish always reminds me of summer," he says. "But the perfume should not dominate the other flavors."

At L'Hostellerie du Val de Sault, chef/owner Yves Gattechaut loves the taste of lavender with lamb. One of the dishes on his current menu is a lamb carpaccio with homemade lavender vinegar, served with beignets d'herbe. He also prepares lamb cutlets, which he serves with a sauce made from veal stock and lavender. "If you visit this region," he says, "you can't possibly ignore the color and smell of lavender. It is blue and gold everywhere you look...it's absolutely inspiring."

In the village of St-Rémy-de-Provence, you'll find lavender in both savory and sweet dishes at the highly regarded restaurant La Serre. Chef Serge Gille-Naves serves monkfish in a daube or a fricassée that has been lightly perfumed with lavender, or he'll wrap it in parchment (en papillote) and bake it along with lavender, lemon and butter. Desserts, however, are where lavender really shines. Using a recipe developed by his grandfather, the famed patissier Gaston Lenôtre, Gilles-Naves adds lavender to his pain d'épice (gingerbread), along with aniseed and orange, to give it a depth of flavor not usually found in a simple spice cake. (See recipe, below.)

A lavender-tinged crème anglaise is delicious, hot or cold, over cake, fruit or any other dessert. Add a pinch of lavender to sugar cookies or a simple frosted cake, or use it to flavor homemade ice cream. At Lavande restaurant in the Loews Santa Monica Hotel, the Sunday brunch features a lavender crème brûlée. Lavender also goes well with many fruits, especially raspberries and blueberries.

Lavender tea is a soothing drink thought by many to have medicinal qualities. But if you want something with more kick, you can get that from lavender too. At her tiny distillery in the Provençal town of Bedoin, Catherine Fructus sells liqueurs infused with herbs and other botanicals. Sold locally and by mail in graceful, hand-labeled bottles, her flavored digestifs (lavender, lemon, verbena) are meant to be drunk very cold. Fructus also makes and sells kits that allow you to mix her botanical blends with the wine or alcohol of your choice. Among the most popular is the one called Ventouné, a combination of lavender, orange, mint and verbena. "Drinking lavender-flavored liqueur," says Fructus, "is like sipping bottled sunshine."



Bonnes Adresses

Shopping

Lavender for cooking may be difficult to find in some parts of the United States, but you will probably be able to locate it at gourmet food shops or on the Internet. For lavender honey and herbes de Provence, see our shopping section.

Catherine Fructus's lavender liqueur
Tel. 04 90 92 57 96
E-mail: Provenceenkit@voila.fr

Dining

L'Hostellerie du Val de Sault
Route St-Trinit
84390 Sault
Tel. 04 90 64 01 41
Fax 04 90 64 12 74

La Serre
9 rue Commune
13210 St-Rémy-de-Provence
Tel. 04 90 92 37 21

Loews Santa Monica Hotel
1700 Ocean Avenue
Santa Monica, CA
Tel. 310-458-6700

Milwaukee Country Club
8000 North Range Line Road
Milwaukee, WI
Tel. 414-362-5200

Note: When calling France from the U.S., dial 011-33, omit the initial "0" of the phone/fax number, and dial the remaining 9 digits. Within France, dial the full 10-digit number.