IngredientsSpices
Pimpinellesalad burnet
Sanguisorba minor, also called Kleiner Wiesenknopf in German. A rose relative with small saw-edged leaflets and round flower heads.
The taste sits between nut and cucumber, finer than borage. It is the third of the seven herbs in Frankfurt's Grüne Soße, and it works in herb butter and salads too.
Im Topfin the pot
The young leaflets go in raw and finely cut. Leave the stalk out, it is tough.
Cooked, it loses almost all of its character. This is a herb for cold dishes.
In Mexikoin Mexico
It is called pimpinela menor and shops effectively do not stock it.
Seed comes from specialist suppliers. The plant is perennial and takes drought; one pot in part shade covers a kitchen.
Ersatzwhat to use
Leave it out and raise the borage instead. Both run in the same cucumber direction, borage is just louder.
The fine nutty note goes missing. The sauce loses some depth but it still works.
Vorsichtcareful
Do not confuse it with anise burnet saxifrage. That is a different plant with a different taste.
Buy on the name alone and you can end up with anise in your Grüne Soße.