Borage – flower or herb?

I am blessed with a wonderful husband who loves to garden. Me – not so much. However, I love what he grows and harvests from his garden. He built me a dedicated herb garden with some typical herbs such as basil, tarragon, thyme, parsley and mint. Although not in the herb garden, he also grows a beautiful herb – Borage. What is borage and how can we use it in the kitchen? That is the subject of this Cooking Tip.

Borage is a nice green plant with beautiful blue-purple flowers making it wonderful just for decorative purposes. Honeybees also love it, to which we can attest as when it is in bloom, there are honeybees all over it.

It is an edible plant said to have a cucumber taste. It also pairs well with dill, mint and garlic. Both the leaves and the flowers are edible. Just make sure it is grown without the use of pesticides. Here are some ideas for incorporating borage into your foods.

Raw

• Mix new, young leaves into green salads.
• Beware, though, that the leaves can be a bit tough and “fuzzy.” Because of these characteristics, some chefs prefer to use them as a seasoning and remove them from the dish before serving.
• Can also be chopped finely and mixed into yogurt or cream cheese.

Pasta

• Ravioli – cook the leaves in a pan with oil and garlic just as you would spinach. When cool, add to a mixture of ricotta, parmesan and eggs. Use this as a ravioli filling with your freshly made pasta dough or wonton wrappers.
• Pasta sauce – blanch borage leaves in boiling water and puree with olive oil and lemon juice. Heat a small amount of broth, add borage puree and season. Serve with your favorite pasta.

Soup

• Cook the leaves in butter or oil and add to a summer soup, especially green soups such as pea or spinach.

Cookies

• Use them to add a decorative touch to simple sugar cookies.
• Bake your cookies about half-way, apply the flowers with egg white and then finish baking.

Beverages

• Steep borage leaves and flowers in a simple syrup for an hour and use in a cocktail or lemonade.
• Add flowers and/or leaves to your ice cube tray filled with water and freeze. Add to chilled beverages.
• Can be steeped in hot water for 10-15 minutes for a hot “tea.”

Candied flowers

• The flowers are beautiful candied and can be used as a decorative touch on cupcakes or other desserts.

Garnish

• Both the leaves and flowers can be used as a garnish in salads or even in desserts.

I admit that although we have borage growing in our garden, I have not brought it into my kitchen. Rather, I just enjoy looking at the beautiful blooms. What about you? Have you ever tried it?