Shrimp and Lovage Salad

Never heard of lovage? I hadn’t until a year ago when I experienced a dish drizzled with “lovage oil” at Boulder, Colorado’s Black Cat Bistro. It’s amazing stuff – a hardy, perennial herb whose flavor profile is like the love-child of celery and parsley. Today I used part of my ration harvested for me by Sunset Beach Farm to make a simple shrimp salad for lunch (this would be amazing served lobster roll-style too). A little lovage goes a long way, so use it more sparingly than celery. Cool lovage use: the stalks are hollow and make fantastic straws for Bloody Mary’s!

SHRIMP AND LOVAGE SALAD

1/2 cup light mayonnaise (I use Hellmann’s)

juice of 1 lemon

1/2 cup finely chopped lovage leaves and tender stems (packed)

pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 pounds cooked shrimp, peeled, deveined and tails removed

Make the dressing first to allow the flavors to combine. In a medium bowl whisk together the light mayonnaise, lemon juice, chopped lovage, sea salt and pepper. Set aside or cover and place in the refrigerator if you are not going to use right away.

Butterfly your cooked shrimp and then roughly chop. Leave to cool for an hour if you’ve just boiled them. Combine with dressing and serve over spring greens, as a sandwich or into hollowed out vegetables (peppers, tomatoes, …)

Serves 4 as a main.