I’m particularly taken by lovage before I even taste it – it just sounds good; ‘lovage’ sounds like the place of a love-in where everyone and everything is gorgeous. You might not think it on first taste, but this easy-to-grow plant, although heavily scented, is a versatile herb. I use it a few times in this book: with rhubarb and goat’s cheese, with sweet roast beetroot and wet garlic – and here, with handsome mussels and earthy celery, all indulgently augmented by double cream. It wouldn’t be a love-in without double cream.