Cooking with Lavender

Lavender is a member of the mint herb family so is it any wonder that it is used in cooking and recipes. The only lavender recommended for cooking is angustifolia (english), which has a light, sweet smell, whereas the lavandula intermedia (french, like Grosso) are all high in camphor oil, which is slightly bitter in food and is treated by the body as a toxin.

We feel the best varieties and the ones we grow are:

Hidcote

Melissa

Royal Velvet  

Munstead

In cooking, use 1/3 the quantity of dried flowers to fresh. The key to cooking with lavender is to experiment; start out with a small amount of flowers, and add more as you go. 

NOTE: Adding too much lavender to your recipe can be like eating perfume and will make your dish bitter. Because of the strong flavor of lavender,  the secret is that a little goes a long way.

Lavender can also be substituted for rosemary in many bread recipes. The flowers can be put in sugar and sealed tightly for a couple of weeks then the sugar can be substituted for ordinary sugar for a cake, buns. Grind the lavender coffee grinder or mash it with mortar and pestle. The stems make wonderful skewers.
Flowers look beautiful and taste good too in a glass of champagne, with chocolate cake, or as a garnish for  ice creams. Lavender lends itself to savory dishes also, from hearty stews to wine-reduced sauces.

Lavender Syrup 
2 cups water
2 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons fresh or dried lavender blossoms
Directions:  Bring all ingredients to a boil in a large, stainless steel saucepan. Remove from heat and allow to steep 30 minutes.Strain, chill and refrigerate, tightly covered. Use to sweeten hot or cold drinks. Delicious in ice tea or lemonade.

Lavender and Lemon Verbena Dip 
1 - 8 ounce cream cheese soften 
1 - 8 ounce sour cream 
1/2 cup lemon verbena leaves, chopped fine 
1 teas. Culinary lavender buds 
1/4 cup fresh squeeze lemon juice 
1/4 sugar 
Mix all ingredients and chill overnight in the refrigerator. 
Serve with apple slices, pear slice or cookies.

Lavender Berry Butter Spread

1/2 cup sweet unsalted butter softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup honey 
1/2 cup fresh berries
1 teaspoon dried lavender
Blend the first four items in a food blender, then fold in lavender. Chill. 

Lavender Scones
2 cups flour 
1 Tablespoon baking powder 
4 Tablespoon butter 
1/4 Cup sugar 
2 Teaspoon fresh lavender florets or 1 Teaspoon dried culinary lavender roughly chopped 
About 2/3 Cup milk
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Sift together the flour and baking powder. Rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar and lavender florets, reserving a pinch of lavender to sprinkle on the top of the scones before baking them. 
Add enough milk to make a soft, sticky dough. Bind the mixture together and then turn the dough out onto a well-floured work surface. Shape the dough into a circle, gently patting the top to give a 1inch depth. Using a floured cutter. Stamp out 12 scones. Place on a baking sheet. 
Brush the tops with a little milk and sprinkle with the reserved lavender. Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden. Serve warm, with plum jam and clotted cream.

Lavender Shortbread Cookies 
3 cups unsalted butter, softened 
2 cups granulated sugar 
6 cups flour 
1/2 teaspoon salt 
1 T. vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon extract 
1 T. dried lavender buds 
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. 
Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Sift flour and salt.  Add to butter mixture and stir until well incorporated.  Add vanilla extract, lemon extract, and lavender buds.  Form dough into logs roll in lavender colored sugar and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm. Slice dough into 1/2 thick slices.  Lay cookie slices on parchment lined baking sheet.  Bake for 10-15 minutes or until edges

Honey Lavender Madeleines

1 stick  unsalted butter
1/3 cup honey
1 1/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons dried lavender (I ground mine in a spice/coffee grinder)
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/3 cup  sugar
3 eggs
1 egg yolk
confectioner’s sugar

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees (190 degrees celsius).  Butter and flour 2 madeleine pans (24 shell indentations, total).  Melt butter and stir in honey.  Set aside to cool.  Whisk together flour, lavender, and salt.  Set aside. 

2.  In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together eggs and sugar until pale and thick, 5-7 minutes.

  

3.  Carefully fold flour mixture into egg mixture.  Stir in butter and honey.  Spoon into each madeleine shape and tap the pans on the counter to tap out any air pockets. Bake for 8-10 minutes, rotating halfway through cooking time for even baking.  Let cool a minute or two in the pans, then turn out onto a cooling rack.  When completely cool, dust with powdered sugar.

Lavender Creme Brulee 

6 to 8 servings

Ingredients:

4 cups heavy cream

1 tablespoon dried lavender flowers

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Butter (6-ounce) custard cups and set them into a glass baking dish. If cooking custards in a metal pan, cover the bottom of the pan with a layer of newspaper to ensure an even temperature on the bottom. Place custard cups in a shallow ovenproof roasting or baking pan.

In a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat, add cream and the lavender flowers; heat just to a simmer. Remove from heat and allow lavender flowers to infuse with the cream for 5 minutes. Strain cream mixture through a fine mesh strainer to remove lavender flowers.

In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and 1/2 cup sugar until light and creamy. Slowly add the strained cream to the egg mixture, blending well. Divide custard mixture among the custard cups.

Bring the water for the water bath (see definition on right) to a light simmer on top of the stove; carefully pour hot water into the baking pan to come half-way up the sides of the custard cups. NOTE: The most common mistake people make in baking a custard is not putting enough water in the hot-water bath. The water should come up to the level of the custard inside the cups. You must protect your custard from the heat.

Baked 60 minutes or until set around the edges but still loose in the center. The cooking time will depend largely on the size of the custard cups you are using, but begin checking at a half hour and check back regularly. When the center of the custard is just set, it will jiggle a little when shaken, that's when you can remove it from the oven.

Remove from oven and leave in the water bath until cooled. Remove cups from water bath and refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.

When ready to serve, sprinkle approximately 2 teaspoons of remaining sugar over each crème brulee. For best results, use a small hand-held torch. Hold the torch 4 to 5 inches from the sugar, maintaining a slow and even motion. Stop torching just before the desired degree of doneness is reached, as the sugar will continue to cook for a few seconds after flame has been removed.

If you don't have a torch, place crème brulees 6 inches below the broiler for 4 to 6 minutes or until sugar bubbles and turns golden brown. Refrigerate crème brulees at least 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 6 to 8 servings (depending on size of custard cups).

Lavender Lemon Pound Cake

1 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup dried lavender, divided
5 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar -- divided
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons cake flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 TBS grated lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup strained lemon juice
Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Butter and flour a 9x5-inch loaf pan. Melt the butter with 1 TBS of the lavender in a small saucepan. Let the mixture steep 10 minutes, then strain, discarding the lavender. Set aside to cool.
Beat the eggs and 1 cup of the sugar in the bowl of a mixer until thick and pale, about 5 minutes.
Sift together the flour and salt into a bowl. Using a whisk, fold the lemon zest and one-third
of the flour mixture into the eggs until thoroughly combined. Fold in the rest of the flour in 2 batches. In a separate bowl, whisk 1 cup of the batter with the melted butter and the vanilla.
Add this to the remaining batter and fold to combine. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes.
If the top of the cake seems to be getting overly browned before the center is set, cover with foil
and continue baking. Meanwhile, combine the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar, the lemon juice, 1/4 cup of water and the remaining 3 TBS of lavender in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Transfer the cake to a wire rack. Using a cake tester
or skewer, poke the cake all over. Brush the loaf with half of the syrup and let cool for 10 minutes.
Invert the cake onto the rack, remove the pan and brush the syrup over the bottom and sides of the cake. Turn the cake back over and brush with the remaining syrup. Let cool completely.

Creamy Lavender Vinaigrette
3/4 cup sour cream
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup olive oil or grapeseed oil
1 tsp lime or lemon juice
1 tsp Herbs de Provence
1 1/2 tsp dried culinary lavender (ground to a fine powder in a coffee mill)
Combine all ingrediants in a pint jar and shake well. Pour it on salad greens or vegetables. Keeps for several days in the refrigerator and gets better as it "tishes."

Herbes de Provence
Make your own blend of the traditional seasoning widely used in Mediterranean cooking. Use it to season lamb or poultry, in a honey glaze for pork or roasted turkey, and with roasted onions, garlic, and other root vegetables. Use well-dried, organic herbs.

1/4 cup thyme leaves
1/4 cup savory leaves
3 tablespoons basil leaves
2 tablespoons crushed bay leaves
2 tablespoons crushed rosemary leaves
1 tablespoon crushed lavender flowers

Mix the whole leaves together and store in an airtight jar in a cool, dark place.

Just before using, crush to a fine powder and add to foods.

Chicken with Herbes de Provence Recipe

Yields: 4 servings

Ingredients:

4 chicken boneless breast halves (with skin)*

1 tablespoon freshly-squeezed lemon juice

* Do not remove skin until after baking, as the skin helps to retain moisture in the meat.

** Herbes de Provence - An assortment of dried herbs said to reflect those most commonly used in southern France. The mixture commonly contains basil, fennel seed, lavender, marjoram, rosemary, sage, summer savory, and thyme.

Preparation:

Place chicken breasts, single layer, into an ungreased 13x9-inch baking dish.

In a medium-sized bowl, combine olive oil and the herbes de Provence together. Pour marinade over chicken breasts. Cover and marinate at room temperature for 20 minutes or refrigerate to marinate longer (turning meat over several times).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake, uncovered, 25 to 30 minutes or until a meat thermometer  registers an internal temperature of 165 degrees F (juices will run clear when cut with the tip of a knife); basting several times during cooking. Remove from oven and serve immediately.

Blood Orange Lavender Glazed Turkey
Recipe courtesy of Chefs Ron Oliver and Bernard Guillas, authors of "Flying Pans--Two Chefs, One World"

GLAZE

• 1 cup blood orange juice
• 1/2 cup pomegranate molasses
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup Cointreau liqueur
• 1 teaspoon dried lavender flowers
• 1/4 teaspoon star anise powder
• TURKEY
  
• 2 heads garlic
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup chopped sun dried apricots
• 2 tablespoons chopped lemon thyme
• 1 tablespoon chopped sage leaves
• 1 18-pound free range turkey
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 cup peeled cipollini onions
  
• 30 small new potatoes, halved
• 20 baby carrots, peeled
  
• 20 baby beets, peeled
• 3 medium parsnips, peeled, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 bouquet fresh herbs
• BLACK MUSCAT SAUCE
• ** reserved neck and giblets
• 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
• 3/4 cup diced red onions
• 1/2 cup diced celery
• 4 sprigs thyme
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1/4 cup sherry vinegar
• 1 cup black muscat wine
• 3 quarts chicken stock
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

• PREPARATION

  1. GLAZE
  2. Combine all ingredients in small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to simmer. Reduce to syrupy consistency. Strain through fine sieve. Set aside
  3. TURKEY
  4. Pre-heat oven to 350°F. Cut garlic heads in half crosswise. Place cut side down in casserole dish. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Cover.
  5. Cook 30 minutes or until soft. Squeeze pulp into mixing bowl. Mix with sun dried apricots, thyme and sage. Carefully insert fingers between skin and flesh of turkey to loosen. Evenly spread garlic mixture under skin of breasts and legs. Rub remaining olive oil over entire turkey. Season inside and out with salt and pepper.
  6. Bake in roasting pan, breast side up. Brush with glaze every 30 minutes.
  7. After 2 1/2 hours surround turkey with vegetables. Dot with butter. Season vegetables with salt and pepper.
  8. Cook 1 hour or until internal temperature reaches 160°F at thickest part of thigh. Transfer turkey to ceramic serving platter. Surround with root vegetables. Garnish with herb bouquet before serving
  9. BLACK MUSCAT SAUCE
  10. Reduce chicken stock to 1 quart in large sauce pot. Set aside. Cut necks into 2-inch pieces, using cleaver.
  11. Add oil to large sauce pot over medium high heat. Add neck and giblets. Brown on all sides. Reduce heat to medium.
  12. Add onions, celery, thyme, raisins and butter. Cook 5 minutes, stirring often. Stir in flour. Cook 1 minute. Add vinegar, black muscat and chicken stock. Bring to simmer.
  13. Cook 15 minutes or until sauce consistency, stirring often. Season with salt and pepper.
  14. Strain trough fine sieve. Transfer to sauce boat

BEVERAGES

Lavender Lemonade
Recipe created by Chef Humphrey Morbeck
From the August 2002 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine
Makes about 16 servings
3 cups sugar
7 lavender sprigs (stems and buds), plus additional for garnish*
2 cups fresh lemon juice (from about 12 lemons)
1/2 cup fresh lime juice (from about 5 limes)
In a large saucepan, bring one gallon of water and the sugar to a boil. Remove from heat; add 7 lavender sprigs and lemon and lime juices. Cool to room temperature, strain, and chill. Serve on ice, with additional lavender for garnish.

Purple Passion Lavender Lemonade
Cover 1/4 cup lavender flowers with 1 cup boiling water and let steep 10 minutes. Strain.
Combine lavender infusion with 1-12 oz. can frozen lemonade concentrate and 1 cup grape juice. Add 1 quart water. Chill. To make: fill glass 1/2 full of lavender lemonade over ice, then top up with lemon-lime soda or champagne. Add a lavender sprig.

Lavender Cosmopolitan

1 ounce mandarin vodka
1 ounce parfait amour
1 ounce cranberry Juice
1 slice lime

Rub the rim of a cocktail glass with a lime wedge and dip the glass into lavender sugar (sugar and a small pinch of a lavender head ground briefly in a spice mill) to coat the rim thoroughly. Pour mandarin vodka, parfait amour, and cranberry juice into a chilled shaker. Shake well and pour into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a slice of lime.

Lavender Martini

Muddle the fresh lavender in a muddling glass and fill with crushed ice. Pour the vodka and the dash of dry vermouth into the glass. Stir briefly. Empty the ice from the martini glass and shake out any water. Strain cocktail into chilled martini glass. Garnish with a vermouth-soaked, almond-stuffed olive.

Lavender Wine

Pluck four to ten lavender corollas from a fresh lavender head and float them across a chilled, light white wine. Or use a stem with a small flower head as a swizzle stick (flower side down).

You can also check Lockwood Lavender Farm Pinterest Board for more recipes.