Cryptic crossword clue
Where rocket leaves quite often

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 plus 9 letter word CAPE CANAVERAL

I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
C
A
P
E
C
A
N
A
V
E
R
A
L

Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "can replace a core of lovage in a salad (4,9)" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case can replace a core of lovage in a salad (4,9) = cape canaveral.
The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.
This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.

Crossword Answer definitions

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