Warm it up this winter by adding Culinary Lavender to your dinner! Here are a few of our favorite winter dishes, sides, desserts and drinks.
Entrée Ideas:
Grilled Lavender Honey Chicken Breast:
This recipe was found at A Quiet Life Blog.
Ingredients:
- ¾ cup white wine vinegar or lavender wine vinegar
- ¼ cup grated lemon zest
- ½ cup fresh lemon juice
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup honey or lavender honey **Try our LHF Honey **
- 1 Table spoon dried culinary lavender **Try our Culinary Lavender**
- 1 ½ tea spoons fresh lime juice
- 1 tea spoon sea salt
- ¼ tea spoon black pepper
- 8 boneless chicken breasts
Instructions:
In a large bowl, mix the vinegar, lemon zest, lemon juice, honey, lavender, lime juice, salt and pepper. Add chicken and coat. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours.
Preheat a grill to medium. Remove the chicken from the marinade and place, skin side down, on the grill. Cook, turning every 5 minutes and brushing with the marinade for 15 minutes or until the chicken is no longer pink when tested with a sharp knife. Serve and Enjoy!
Salmon with Lavender:
Ingredients:
- 4 fresh salmon filets
- 1 teaspoon of lavender **Try our Culinary Lavender**
- 1 teaspoon of lemon juice
- 1/2 cup of white wine
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
Instructions:
Mix the olive oil, white wine, lavender and lemon juice in a large bowl. Add pepper to taste. Place the filets in the resulting marinade and refrigerate for 30 minutes. During this time, pre-heat the barbecue on medium heat. Cook the salmon, wrapped in aluminum foil, and cook over barbecue for approximately 12 to 15 minutes while keeping the cover closed. While cooking, turn and liberally baste the salmon with the marinade. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with steamed potatoes or a salad.
Lavender Crusted Pork Chops:
Ingredients:
- 1 thick-cut, bone-in pork chop
- 1 tablespoon dried lavender **Try our Culinary Lavender**
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 pat of butter
- Salt
- Chili flakes
Instructions:
Season pork chop with lavender, oregano, salt and chili flakes to taste. Cover both sides and edges thoroughly. Heat sauté pan and olive oil on medium-high heat until the oil moves on its own or just begins to smoke. Sear pork chop 4 to 5 minutes on each side — depending on the thickness of the chop and temperature of your pan —until nicely browned on both sides. Add the pat of butter to the pan and baste the pork chop. Continue cooking until browned well on both sides. For medium-well, the chop should be firm to the touch.
Side Ideas:
Lavender Roasted Potatoes:
Ingredients:
- 2-2 ½ pounds (about 4 large) thin skinned Potatoes (New, Red, etc)
- 2 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 ½ tablespoon dried Lavender designated for culinary use **Try our Culinary Lavender**
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees*. Scrub potatoes, cut out any bad spots and cut into bite-sized pieces. Do not peel. Toss in a bowl with olive oil. When coated with the olive oil, add lavender, salt and pepper. Spread into a single layer in a roasting pan or on a baking sheet. Place in the oven for 30 minutes, stirring part way through to ensure even browning. Potatoes are done then soft inside to the bite.
Salmon with Lavender Honey and Spinach Salad:
Ingredients:
- 1 ½ pounds salmon
- 3 tablespoons lavender honey **Try our LHF Honey**
- Salt and pepper
- Dried lavender **Try our Culinary Lavender**
- Fresh baby spinach
- Fresh berries
- Toasted pecans
Honey Mustard Dressing:
- 1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons lavender honey **Try our LHF Honey**
- 1 tablespoon plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
- Milk or buttermilk to thin to desired consistency
- Salt and pepper
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with foil and place the salmon on the foil, skin side down. Drizzle the salmon with the honey and season with salt and pepper. Roast for about 8-12 minutes, until cooked to your liking.
Serve with the salad and dressing then garnish the salmon with a little dried lavender.
Dessert Ideas:
Lemon Lavender Poppy Seed Scones:
Ingredients for Scones:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup (1 stick or 8 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, sliced
- 2 large lemons, zest and juice, divided (about 4 tablespoons lemon juice and 2 tablespoons lemon zest)
- 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
- 2 tablespoons culinary dried lavender spice **Try our Culinary Lavender**
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 2 tablespoons melted butter, for brushing more granulated sugar, for sprinkling
Ingredients for Glaze:
- 1 cup confectioner’s (powdered) sugar
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from one of the lemons you used the zest of for the scones)
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the cold butter to the flour mixture and cut it in with a pastry blender or two knives moving in opposite directions until a crumbly mixture forms. Add the zest of both lemons to the mixing bowl along with the poppy seeds and lavender. Stir gently to combine. Make a well in the center of the mixture and add 3 tablespoons lemon juice, milk and egg. Stir with a spoon until mixture starts to come together and then gently and quickly mix with your hands until all flour is incorporated.
Transfer the dough to a very lightly floured surface and form into a circle just under 1-inch thick. Cut into 8 wedges and transfer them to the prepared baking sheet. Brush the top of each scone with a little melted butter and sprinkle with a pinch of granulated sugar.
Bake for 18-20 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through, until the scones rise and start to turn golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool while you prepare the glaze.
Glaze Instructions:
In a small mixing bowl, whisk the confectioner’s sugar with 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice until smooth and of drizzling consistency. Add additional confectioner’s sugar if glaze is too thin or lemon juice if it’s too thick.
Once scones have cooled slightly, drizzle glaze evenly among them. Let set about 10 minutes before enjoying.
Lavender Pound Cake:
Honey Vanilla Pound Cake:
- 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at cool room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
- 2 cups sifted cake flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom of an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2-inch loaf pan or two mini loaf pans. Line the bottom with parchment paper, then grease and flour the pan.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed for 3 to 4 minutes, until light. Meanwhile, put the eggs, honey, vanilla, and lemon zest in a glass measuring cup but do not combine. With the mixer on medium-low speed, add the egg mixture, one egg at a time, scraping down the bowl and allowing each egg to become incorporated before adding the next egg.
Sift together the flour, salt, and baking powder. With the mixer on low-speed, add it slowly to the batter until just combined. Finish mixing the batter with a rubber spatula and pour it into the prepared pan. Smooth the top. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (If you are baking two mini loaves bake for 50 minutes.) Cool for 15 minutes, turn out onto a baking rack, and cool completely before glazing.
Lavender Honey Glaze:
- 1 1/4 cups confectioners sugar
- 1/4 cup warm water
- 2 Tbsp lavender honey **Try our LHF Hohney**
Instructions:
Make Lavender Honey: In a small saucepan infuse 1 tbsp. dried lavender in 1 cup of honey over low heat for 30 minutes or up to 2 hours. Honey can be stored in a jar
In a small bowl combine confectioners sugar, honey and warm water. Wisk together until smooth.
Drizzle over cooled pound cake and serve!
Drink Ideas:
Lavender Bee’s Knees:
Ingredients:
- 1 tsp Honey **Try our LHF Honey**
- 1 oz Lavender simple syrup **Try our Lavender Simple Syrup**
- 1 oz Lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 2 oz Gin **Try Petoskey Stone Gin -made with our farm’s lavender**
- 1 sprig of lavender and/or flowers
Instructions:
Add the gin and honey into a shaker and stir to dissolve the honey.
Add in the remaining ingredients.
Fill shaker with ice.
Shake and strain into a cocktail coupe.
Garnish with a sprig of Lavender.
Lavender Hot Chocolate:
Ingredients:
- 3 cups milk
- 1 cup cream
- 2 tbsp lavender dried, culinary-grade **Try our Culinary Lavender**
- 8 oz milk chocolate finely chopped
- 2 oz dark chocolate finely chopped
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions:
Combine the milk, cream, and lavender in a medium saucepan, and bring it to a simmer. Once at a simmer, remove the pan from the heat and cover it with a lid. Let it sit and steep for 30 minutes, to infuse the milk with lavender flavor. (If you want a very subtle lavender flavor, reduce the time to 20 minutes. For a strong flavor, increase to 40 or 45 minutes.)
After 30 minutes, pour the milk through a strainer into a bowl to remove the lavender, then return the milk to the saucepan. Put the pan on the heat and bring it back to a simmer, but don’t let it boil. Remove the pan from the heat and add the chopped milk chocolate, dark chocolate, salt, and vanilla extract.
Whisk everything together until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Pour into mugs and top with whipped cream. Lavender Hot Chocolate can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator for up to a week. Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop.
We hope you enjoy cooking with Lavender, share photos of your creations with us on Facebook or Instagram! #LHFarm Thank you for all of the recipe bloggers out there that make it so simple to cook with our favorite herb!