10 Healing Litha Recipes Inspired by Hildegard of Bingen
10 Healing Litha Recipes Inspired by Hildegard of Bingen
When the summer solstice arrives — Litha, June 20th or 21st, the longest day of the year — ancient peoples gathered to celebrate the sun's peak power. This is the moment of maximum light, when day defeats night most completely, when the sun reaches its zenith before beginning its slow decline back toward winter.
Hildegard of Bingen knew this glorious season intimately. By late June at her Rupertsberg monastery, summer was at its fullest. Wild strawberries ripened in forest clearings — tiny, intensely sweet. Every herb in the garden reached its peak of fragrance and potency. Fresh vegetables appeared — early beans, tender lettuce, crisp radishes. Flowers bloomed everywhere. The monastery kept bees, and honey flowed golden. Fresh milk and cheese abounded. This was the season of light, warmth, and the year's first fruits.
In her Physica, Hildegard celebrated summer's gifts: wild strawberries, all fresh herbs at their healing peak, summer savory that "makes one joyful," fresh roses for the heart, and abundant vegetables.
For Hildegard, Litha called for honoring the sun's power and celebrating light's victory, knowing even at this peak, the wheel has already begun to turn toward darkness.
☀️ 10 Litha Recipes from Hildegard's Summer Garden
These recipes use June's peak abundance — everything at maximum vitality.
1. Grilled Summer Chicken with Roses
Historical note: Chicken is "good for humans to eat." June roses bloom abundantly. Hildegard: rose "makes the heart joyful."
Ingredients
4 chicken breast pieces
3 tbsp butter, softened
2 tbsp fresh rose petals, chopped fine
2 tbsp fresh thyme
1 tbsp honey
Salt and pepper
Instructions
Mix butter, rose petals, thyme, honey, salt, pepper.
Rub mixture all over chicken.
Let marinate 30 minutes.
Grill over medium heat until cooked through, about 20 minutes.
Serve with fresh rose petals scattered on top.
✨ Summer chicken kissed with roses — peak season bird, peak season flowers, pure midsummer.
2. Perch with Strawberry Sauce
Historical note: Hildegard praised perch as healthy. Wild strawberries in June are tiny, intense. Sweet fruit with fish — medieval luxury.
Ingredients
4 perch fillets (or other white fish)
2 cups wild strawberries (or regular, chopped small)
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp honey
1/4 cup white wine
Fresh mint for garnish
Salt and pepper
Instructions
Season fish, sauté in butter 3-4 minutes per side.
Remove fish, keep warm.
Add strawberries, honey, and wine to pan.
Cook until strawberries soften, about 5 minutes.
Pour over fish, garnish with mint.
✨ River fish, wild strawberries — June's contrasts united, sweet and savory.
3. Summer Bean & Bacon Stew
Historical note: Early beans appear in June. Last stored bacon meets first fresh vegetables.
Ingredients
4 cups fresh green beans, chopped
6 strips bacon, chopped
2 onions, diced
2 cups fresh lettuce, torn
2 tbsp fresh summer savory
2 cups broth
Salt and pepper
Instructions
Fry bacon until crisp.
Add onions, cook until soft.
Add beans and broth, simmer 15 minutes.
Stir in lettuce and savory, cook 5 more minutes.
Season with salt and pepper.
✨ First June beans, last bacon — summer's green meets winter's last fat.
4. Midsummer Lamb Chops
Historical note: Hildegard wrote lamb is "good to eat in summer, because the summer warms it up." June lamb at its finest.
Ingredients
8 lamb chops
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
3 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
Instructions
Mix garlic, rosemary, thyme, oil, salt, pepper.
Rub all over lamb chops.
Let marinate 1 hour.
Grill or broil 3-4 minutes per side.
Rest 5 minutes before serving.
✨ Lamb in summer warmth, herbs at peak potency — Hildegard's wisdom in June glory.
5. Fresh Cheese with Herbs & Honey
Historical note: Abundant summer milk makes fresh cheese. Fresh herbs at peak. Simple perfection.
Ingredients
2 cups fresh cheese (ricotta-style)
2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
1 tbsp fresh mint, chopped
1 tbsp fresh thyme
3 tbsp honey
Fresh bread for serving
Instructions
Mix cheese with all herbs.
Drizzle with honey.
Serve with fresh bread.
✨ Fresh cheese, herbs just cut, honey from bees drunk on summer flowers — simplicity at its peak.
6. Strawberry & Rose Cream
Historical note: Wild strawberries, fresh cream, rose petals. If June is warm, this is paradise.
Ingredients
2 cups wild strawberries (or regular)
2 cups heavy cream, whipped
1/4 cup honey
2 tbsp fresh rose petals, chopped
Fresh mint for garnish
Instructions
Whip cream with half the honey.
Layer strawberries and cream in glasses.
Top with rose petals and remaining honey.
Garnish with mint.
Chill 1 hour.
Modern adaptation (not historically accurate): You can add 1 tsp vanilla to the cream. Vanilla is from Mexico and didn't exist in medieval Europe. Wild strawberries, cream, and roses need no help.
✨ Wild berries, thick cream, summer roses — June's sweetness in layers.
7. Herbed Flatbreads
Historical note: Stored grain, every fresh herb available. Quick breads for summer eating outdoors.
Ingredients
2 cups spelt flour
3 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup water
2 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
Mix flour, herbs, and salt.
Add water and oil, knead briefly.
Divide into 6 pieces, roll thin.
Cook in hot dry pan 2 minutes per side.
Serve warm.
✨ Quick breads green with herbs — summer eating, no oven needed.
8. Radish & Cucumber Summer Salad
Historical note: June radishes, early cucumbers (if available). Crisp, cool, refreshing.
Ingredients
2 bunches radishes, sliced thin
2 cucumbers, sliced thin (if historically available)
1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped
3 tbsp sour cream or yogurt
1 tbsp wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
Instructions
Slice radishes and cucumbers very thin.
Mix sour cream, dill, vinegar, salt, pepper.
Toss with vegetables.
Chill 30 minutes.
Modern adaptation (not historically accurate): Cucumbers may not have been common in 12th-century Germany. For complete historical accuracy, use only radishes with extra lettuce.
✨ Crisp, cool, peppery — summer vegetables at their most refreshing.
9. Honey Sunflower Cakes
Historical note: Stored honey, fresh eggs. Solstice cakes for the longest day.
Ingredients
2 cups spelt flour
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp baking powder
Instructions
Cream butter and honey.
Beat in eggs.
Mix flour, spices, baking powder.
Fold dry into wet.
Drop spoonfuls onto sheet.
Bake at 350°F for 12 minutes.
✨ Golden cakes for the golden sun at its peak — sweet celebration of light.
10. Midsummer Sun Tea
Historical note: Fresh herbs at maximum potency. Hildegard valued sage, mint, rose, lavender for healing and joy.
Ingredients
2 tbsp fresh mint leaves
1 tbsp fresh sage leaves
1 tbsp fresh lemon balm
Fresh rose petals
Fresh lavender flowers
4 cups water
Honey to taste
Instructions
Place all fresh herbs in clear glass jar.
Fill with cool water.
Place in sun for 3-4 hours.
Strain into cups.
Sweeten with honey.
✨ Tea made by the sun itself — herbs at their peak, steeped in light, drunk on the longest day.
✨ Closing Blessing
Litha marks the sun's peak. This is the longest day, the brightest light, the warmest season. But even at this moment of victory, the turning has begun. From tomorrow, the days will shorten. Light will slowly decline toward winter.
Hildegard understood this paradox. In late June, summer was glorious. Wild strawberries ripened. Every herb reached peak healing power. Roses bloomed. Bees made honey. Fresh vegetables appeared. The world was warm and generous.
But she also knew this abundance was temporary. These strawberries would be gone in weeks. These herbs needed harvesting and drying. Even at summer's height, the wise prepared for winter's return.
Her recipes for Litha celebrate the moment — fresh everything, nothing stored, pure summer at its peak. This is food at its most alive, most potent, most joyful.
As you cook these recipes, imagine Hildegard on the summer solstice at noon. The sun is directly overhead. Everything is green and blooming. This is the peak. This is the turning.
Give thanks for light, knowing darkness will return, trusting light will return again.
Note: When foraging for wild strawberries and herbs, ensure proper identification and gather from clean areas. Use only unsprayed roses for culinary purposes.