Pasta with brown butter and sage

[Fat Guy]

Tomorrow yet again I have to BS my way through a cooking project. I have never actually made a brown butter and sage sauce for pasta. Is it really as simple as melting butter over medium heat and stirring until it browns, adding chopped sage for a minute, tossing with pasta and adding parmesan? Anything else I need to know?

[SobaAddict70]

Tomorrow yet again I have to BS my way through a cooking project. I have never actually made a brown butter and sage sauce for pasta. Is it really as simple as melting butter over medium heat and stirring until it browns, adding chopped sage for a minute, tossing with pasta and adding parmesan? Anything else I need to know?

Pretty much.

You have to watch it carefully so that it doesn't burn. Otherwise it's quite straightforward.

Consider leaving the sage whole or thinly sliced. A dash of lemon juice added toward the end helps cut the richness and halt the cooking.

That's about it.

[Lisa Shock]

Actually, don't stir the butter. You can swirl it gently til it all melts, but it won't brown properly unless it's still for a while. Let it foam a bit as the water boils out, then watch for the milk solids at the bottom to brown and pull it off very soon thereafter. It should have a distinct hazelnut aroma.

[Ashen]

It is one of those classic italian dishes. So simple , but unbelievably good. After taking the time to make homemade gnocchi it is great to be able to sauce it with something so simple.

[HungryChris]

My first experience with pasta with sage brown butter sauce was in Greve, Italy. I was blown away by it. The first few times I tried to create it I was too light handed with the sage leaves and I took them out of the sauce. That was a mstake. They are best left in to crisp up in the sauce to insure the flavor is well infused into the butter and then the texture changes again when introduced into the steaming pasta. Now I AM hungry!

HC

[rlibkind]

I like to chiffonade most of the sage, with the exception of a couple of leaves which I leave whole for each plate.

[Fat Guy]

Specifically, I'll be getting 100 small ravioli from Borgatti's in the Bronx and serving them in a big bowl as part of a birthday-party buffet for a friend.

[JBailey]

Perhaps a half a clove of garlic at the beginning of browning the butter?

[SylviaLovegren]

I like it with the sage leaves whole, as well, and slightly crispy. Like mini potato chips with a nutty, buttery, sage flavor.

[Alex]

What everyone else said. Use enough sage. Use a good cheese (of course).

To paint the lily, make it with pumpkin- or similar squash-filled ravioli. For a simpler, sort-of-deconstructed version, I brown small butternut squash cubes in some olive oil, then mix them with farfalle, the butter-sage sauce, and parm-reg.

[rlibkind]

If it's for ravioli, maybe you can get pumpkin/squash (I forget the Italian name). Great combo with sage brown butter, though I think of it more as an autumnal dish.

[jmolinari]

Be sure to finish the pasta in the pan and add some starchy pasta water while mixing and tossing to bind it all.

[AAQuesada]

Specifically, I'll be getting 100 small ravioli from Borgatti's in the Bronx and serving them in a big bowl as part of a birthday-party buffet for a friend.

If you are doing a larger quantity you can always make a clarified brown butter ahead of time. It keeps well refrigerated. Then you don't have to worry about the butter burning, just heat -fry sage and toss.

Any left over brown butter is great in mash potatoes

Edited May 13, 2011 by AAQuesada (log)

[Kouign Aman]

Dont brown the butter too far before adding the sage, especially if you leave the leaves whole.

They take a while to crisp up.

Although I like the presentation with whole leaves (usually: Clickie(post #825)), chopping it before cooking both speeds the crisping, and makes it easier to distribute evenly.

[Fat Guy]

Thanks for all the advice. I think it came out well. Next time I'll probably let the butter brown a little more.

[DTBarton]

A little diced pancetta browned with the butter and sage is a nice variation.

[LindaK]

If you are doing a larger quantity you can always make a clarified brown butter ahead of time. It keeps well refrigerated. Then you don't have to worry about the butter burning, just heat -fry sage and toss.

Can you brown clarified butter? I always thought it was the milk solids that browned. I've only made it with whole butter.

This is one of the great pasta sauces. When I take the time to make homemade agnolotti, this is the sauce I use. I like to fry some whole leaves for garnish (when I'm plating the pasta) but otherwise stick with the chiffonade.

[AAQuesada]

It is the milk solids that are browned. Just make clarified butter on top of the stove as normal, but when the solids settle to the bottom - keep going and let them brown. Then strain through cheese cloth/fine strainer and cool. You'll get a great nutty caramel-y clean brown butter that you can use for all sorts of stuff and keeps well in the fridge.

[thirtyoneknots]

Not really different from what is being suggested here except for the addition of garlic, but I learned this one from Peterson's Sauces and it is oh so good. Lots of cheese and black pepper.