Lemon Verbena

We had some unseasonably cool weather here during the latter half of September.  It felt more like November and was a rude reminder that summer was over.  It sent me into something of a rush to make certain I used up all the lemon verbena growing out on the back deck.  In early June, I planted three seedlings from the nursery. One died within days, and when I returned to the nursery a week later, they were fresh out. This was disconcerting.  The year before, I had only planted two seedlings and had ran out before Labor Day.  My concerns were unwarranted this year, as I had more than I knew what to do with. Although there are multiple uses for this rarely found herb, almost all that I grow is used for one thing – something I to refer to as “lemon heaven”.  Read on, and I’ll explain.

Lemon verbena, or aloysia citrodora, is a member of the Verbenaceae family and is native to South America.  Like so many of the new world plants, it was introduced to Europe in the 17^th century by way of the Spaniards.  Until about 100 years ago, it was a mainstay throughout European gardens, and French fragrance manufacturers coveted its aromatic oils. During proper meals, guests were presented with finger bowls of water each garnished with a single leaf. What makes lemon verbena so magical is a chemical compound known as citral. Also found in the oils of lemon grass, citral gives verbena its intoxicating lemony scent. And when I say “lemony” I mean lemony. Verbena may very well be lemonier than lemons themselves.

As for taste, it really doesn’t have much.  If you were to hold your nose while eating it, you wouldn’t taste anything remotely close to lemons.  This is why lemon verbena is commonly paired with lemon juice in order to insure that the tongue tastes what the nose perceives. Lemon verbena goes great with chicken, fish and seafood, but the intense citrus scent provides a natural affinity for fruits like mango, nectarine, raspberry and strawberry.

Although it’s not commonly found in the produce section of your local supermarket, Lemon Verbena is fairly easy to grow at home. It’s best grown from seedlings and does well in larger containers. Technically it is a perennial, but unless you live in a frost-free environment, you will want to treat it as annual, buying new seedlings every spring. It requires full sun and well-drained soil and will grow as much as three feet in a season. Feed often throughout the season, and avoid overwatering, and you will be rewarded well into late summer. It’s a bit on the scraggly side, but its bright green lance-shaped leaves with their vibrant fragrance more than make up for its humble appearance. To harvest, simply snip-off individual leaves or cut small sprigs.  Be certain not to cultivate more than a third of the plant at any one time.

(You might wonder why I would wait until the end of summer to write about lemon verbena, when it’s too late for you to grow some of your own to enjoy.  My apologies, but hopefully I can compel you to try and grow some next year. You won’t be sorry if you do.)

If you are fortunate enough to find verbena at the market, look for cuttings that have bright green leaves and a strong fragrance.  Once clipped, verbena will only last about 2-3 days.  You can store it like a flower in a glass or water, or place it in a zip lock plastic bag with a damp paper towel and store in crisper section of your refrigerator.

For the home cook, there are a myriad of uses for lemon verbena, the simplest of which is as a tea.  Just steep one half cup of fresh verbena leaves in 1 cup of hot water for about 10 minutes and strain.   You can also infuse its lemony fragrance into honey.  Place several sprigs into a small jar and cover with honey.  Let it rest for several days, longer for more flavor. Add loose leaves to a simple to give cocktails a citrusy brightness, or bruise several leaves and store with sugar. It can also be added to jellies, drinks custard, ice cream, cakes and vinaigrettes, but my absolute favorite way to use it is in a sorbet.

Lemon Verbena Sorbet

Makes 1 quart

This simple but phenomonal recipe was adapted from The Herbfarm Cookbook by Jerry Traunfeld, which is not only a collection of fantastic recipes but is also an excellent guide to growing your own herbs.  I highly recommend it.  It was Traunfield who described this sorbet as “lemon heaven”, and he was not exaggerating.  If your partial to lemons, this will quickly become one of your favorite desserts.

Traunfield captures the flavor of the lemon verbena by making it into a conserve.  He combines one cup of sugar to one cup of leaves and purees it in a food processor until it is almost paste-like.  The beauty of this is that you can make the conserve well in advance and store it in the freezer in zip lock freezer bags for up to six months.  So you can enjoy this sorbet all throughout the winter months.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup fresh lemon verbena leaves, gently packed
• 1 cup superfine sugar
• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
• 3 cups iced water

Preparation:

Add the lemon verbena leaves and the sugar to the bowl of a food processor.

Puree until the mixture starts to forms a paste, this takes 30 seconds to a minute or more depending on your food processor.  Be sure to stop a few times and scrape down the sides of the work bowl with a spatula. Add the lemon juice and process for 15-30 seconds more. The result will look something like deep green wet sand.

Transfer the paste to a bowl and add the iced water.  Stir for 2-3 minutes until the sugar has fully dissolved.  Strain through a fine sieve to remove the little bits of lemon verbena leaves, otherwise you will get a gritty, unpleasant texture.

Add the strained liquid to an ice cream maker with at least a quart capacity and freeze according to the manufacture’s directions.  My Cuisinart freezer takes 25 minutes to get it to a near-perfect consistency.

Place it into a quart sized plastic container and freeze for at least another 2 hours.  If sorbet is too hard, allow it to set out for about 5 minutes before scooping it out and serving it.

Let’s Eat!

A special thanks to Julius Kuhn-Regnier for helping me with the pictures for this post.

Recipe adapted from:

The Herbfarm Cookbook
Author: Jerry Traunfeld
Publisher: Scribner (2000)