Chervil

Soft scramble, herb off the heat. Any hotter and the anise vanishes.

Fat is the only thing that holds a volatile this fragile in place.

Anise and allium, both delicate, both ruined by five minutes of heat.

Both taste of April. Neither has the strength to overrule the other.

Poached, not roasted. Chervil cannot survive a Maillard crust.

Sweet young starch and faint anise; salt is the only other seasoning needed.

Sulfur green under anise green, bound with butter. Nothing else fits.

The blanched spear has no chlorophyll; chervil lends it the green back.

A fish this mild needs a herb that will not step on it. Very few qualify.

Softer estragole than tarragon, for cold lobster where heat would shout.

Warm oysters, cream, anise. The chill of the shell does the contrast.

Shellfish sweetness and faint liquorice, no acid to break the illusion.

Sour green fruit against the softest anise available. Untried, low risk.