Rick Stein shares rare secret ingredient that adds a 'kick' to recipes - and you can grow it in your garden
Rick Stein has shared his lesser known ingredient that adds a “powerful kick” to your meals and can be grown at home.
Celebrity chef and restauranter Rick says his herbs are the “most important” part of his garden. This is because he likes to incorporate them into his own cooking.
One herb Rick likes in particular is lovage. The 78-year-old says the herb is an excellent choice when paired with creamy fish or potatoes.
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Writing in The Telegraph, he said: “It’s related to celery and parsley and has quite a powerful kick. It’s great in a creamy fish sauce or something like pork belly slices with parsley and lovage potatoes.I also add freshly chopped lovage when I’m making Swedish meatballs.”
Rick says most of the herbs he uses are grown at home in terracotta pots - including six different varieties of mint. Some however, such as rosemary, bay, and chives are planted into the ground.
He added: “I love that I get to breathe in all their wonderful aromatic smells. Herbs can add so much to a dish and growing them gives you a wonderful sense of satisfaction.”
The star, who is known for shows such as Rick Stein's Cornwall and Rick Stein’s Food Stories among others, says his love of herbs stretches back to the 1970s. He says a friend gave him a dish with freshly cooked basil, which he says tasted “amazing”.
Rick also notes it was more difficult to find herbs and spices over half a century ago. He now believes his garden contains “nearly every herb” that grows in the UK.
How to grow lovage?
According to the RHS , lovage flowers in mid to late summer meaning it should be sown between March and May. It should be planted around April meaning it can then sprout in time for June, July or August.
It is a hardy plant that is capable of growing in most types of soil and garden. It needs little maintenance and is a perennial plant, meaning it will die off and then sprout again from base each spring.
The RHS says its leaves can be used in salads, soups and stews. While the stalks can be blanched and the seeds used in baking.
Rick Stein's Cornwall airs on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer