sage

[bloviatrix]

Fried sage leaves are un-freaking-believable. They're seriously addicting.

[balmagowry]

Fried sage leaves - yum!

Fresh sage and pork are a match made in heaven. Sometimes when I make a pork roast I make little slashes all over it and stuff the leaves into them. Pork chops and sage leaves just love each other, whether fried or braised or grilled. I occasionally braise pork chops with vinegar - the idea is loosely based on Pierre Franey's version of Poulet au vinaigre, but I think pork holds up better against the assertiveness of the vinegar - and I always put in a lot of fresh sage.

There is another dish I used to love - I have lost the recipe (aha! maybe someone here knows it!) though I think I could probably fake it - Tuscan white beans with sage. It's eaten cold or room temperature, and the ingredients are white beans (forget which type - the small navy bean I think), garlic, olive oil, sage, bacon, and I think there were also bits of shallots or scallions or some other small delicate raw oniony thing. Oh oh oh it was good - haven't had it in years, but this is making me want it! The beans were cooked enough that they were supposed to get a little soft and mushy and absorb all the other lovely flavors; it was comforting and exciting at the same time.

[Adam Balic]

There is another dish I used to love - I have lost the recipe (aha! maybe someone here knows it!) though I think I could probably fake it - Tuscan white beans with sage. It's eaten cold or room temperature, and the ingredients are white beans (forget which type - the small navy bean I think), garlic, olive oil, sage, bacon, and I think there were also bits of shallots or scallions or some other small delicate raw oniony thing. Oh oh oh it was good - haven't had it in years, but this is making me want it! The beans were cooked enough that they were supposed to get a little soft and mushy and absorb all the other lovely flavors; it was comforting and exciting at the same time.

First take your Tuscan terracotta bean pot or failing this a cast-iron enamel pot. Pre-soak the former if you have it. I pre-soak beans, but are keen to try the Parson technique - as you will in this case.

Beans - well several types are used, but many are quite rare and are not used by real people, only Foodies. So best to use cannelini beans. Place beans in pot cover with water plus half and inch, add much sage leaves and garlic cloves. Add olive oil to cover water. Seal pot with parchment paper, place lid one and heat very low until beans are done, about 3 hours. At this point the beans will have cooked and absorbed water and oil. They can be seasoned and have diced tomato, shallots etc added and served cold or have the best New Tuscan olive oil you can get added and served hot. I prefer the later and this is a killer dish to serve with hot Porchetta.

Edited March 23, 2004 by Adam Balic (log)

[Bicycle Lee]

I second the saltinbocca...

sage is also good in baking sweeter breads...

sage-infused lemonade is cool and crisp on a hot summer day.

[balmagowry]

First take your Tuscan terracotta bean pot or failing this a cast-iron enamel pot. Pre-soak the former if you have it. I pre-soak beans, but are keen to try the Parson technique - as you will in this case.

Beans - well several types are used, but many are quite rare and are not used by real people, only Foodies. So best to use cannelini beans. Place beans in pot cover with water plus half and inch, add much sage leaves and garlic cloves. Add olive oil to cover water. Seal pot with parchment paper, place lid one and heat very low until beans are done, about 3 hours. At this point the beans will have cooked and absorbed water and oil. They can be seasoned and have diced tomato, shallots etc added and served cold or have the best New Tuscan olive oil you can get added and served hot. I prefer the later and this is a killer dish to serve with hot Porchetta.

Sounds wonderful - thank you!

It isn't quite the one I was looking for. I want to say the beans in mine were cooked in water only - or possibly water with a little olive oil - and that everything else I mentioned before (all raw, except the bacon), including more olive oil, was added later, as they began to cool. So the garlic, sage etc., were warmed enough to infuse and soften the flavors, but not enough to cook them; I distinctly remember the flavor of the little raw sage leaves.

In any case, whether I ever manage to reproduce that one or not, I will certainly try yours!

[Cusina]

Dinner tonight is http://recipes.egullet.com/recipes/r920.html . With pasta and fried sage. Now that I've heard the raves I have to go there!

Going to be delicious. Thanks for all your suggestions. I loved the idea of the chicken saltimboca and the cannelini beans too. They are on the menu for next week.

Edited March 23, 2004 by Cusina (log)

[Adam Balic]

Well you know it's Tuscany there are more bean recipes then people. The above recipe is essentially 'Fagioli al fiasco', but there is 'Fagioli all'uccelletto', 'Fagioli alla Fiorentina' (more like you description), etc etc.

[hathor]

Brown butter and sage on just about anything...ravioli, veal cutlets, chicken..it might even be good on Cheerios....

[jo-mel]

Sage leaves roasted along with potatoes and olive oil. You can have the potatoes ---- I'll have the sage!

[chromedome]

Sage also has a natural affinity with most cheeses (basically all but the mildest - which it overwhelms - and strongest, which it conflicts with). Add fresh or fried leaves to anything cheese centred, like an omelette or even (don't laugh) a grilled cheese sandwich. Grilled cheese on a nice bread with sage is mmmmmm.....

[divina]

Tuscany is sage..

the batter fried sage leaves, with or without filling we often use a little ricotta with the anchovy.

Chicken breast sauteed with sage (fry sage leaves in oil until lightly crisp then lay chicken breasts on top, cover and cook, uncover flip chicken raise heat, salt!)

Tuscan beans are done with the sage and garlic in the pot for the beginning for the cooking time, then removed because they are soggy, often we then saute sage and garlic in oil and add the beans back in.. with tomato sauce this is called Fagioli all'uccelletto, and served with sausage)

On my site, I have a friends recipe forSage Pesto

as well as the tuscan beans!

I have also made a great Sage digestivo!!!

here is my tuscan rub!

Edited March 24, 2004 by divina (log)

[curlywurlyfi]

there's a River Cafe recipe for potato gratin with bacon, garlic, sage + cream which is wonderful (hey, bacon AND sage, what's not to like?)

[paul o' vendange]

I love sage as well. Some things I use it in are: oven-dried tomato and three-cheese raviolis, in a sage-brown butter; with braised rabbit and cippolines, infusing the jus near the end with sage and more aromatics; and most especially with pork roast - a blade end pork roast, brined for several days with aromatics, spices, thyme, sage. The day I roast, I split the meat into chops, leaving them intact at the back (chine/rib); pack between the chops with garlic, thyme, sage, black pepper and rosemary; tie tightly together and roast to 130, then butter baste for 10 minutes or so; split into chops, using reserved herbs with butter and finish pan roasting to sear the "interior" side of the meat, to bring it all to 145-150. Tent and eat.

Paul

[bleudauvergne]

On my site, I have a friends recipe forSage Pesto

as well as the tuscan beans!

It's funny that this thread came up, since I had a sage plant on my window sill just waiting to be harvested. I pinched off the young tender leaves and made the recipe for the sage pesto last night, and served it over pasta to friends. It was very nice.

I have also made a great Sage digestivo!!!

I was talking to a co-worker this morning about things to do with sage, and she said that infusing sage in a white wine like Macon overnight makes a nice aperetif. She says just to put a bunch of fresh sage (or basil) leaves, in tact, into the wine and leave it overnight.

I think I'll try that.

edited to add another idea for sage, a succotash which I find goes excellently with poultry of any kind.

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 red bell peppers, cut into 1/4-inch dice

2 courgette, diced

1 cup cooked feves or lima beans (frozen or canned is ok)

the kernels from 2 ears of corn

Salt and black pepper

2 tablespoons fresh sage, coarsely chopped

Melt butter. Add onion, cook until clear. Add garlic, bell peppers, courgette, feves, corn, salt and pepper to taste. Cook, uncovered, stirring, until the corn is tender, about 15 minutes. Add the sage just before serving.

Edited March 25, 2004 by bleudauvergne (log)

[Sentiamo]

Make yourself a heap of potato gnocchi, top with brown butter that has been fried with sage leaves and garlic, pour over gnocchi, chuck in heaps of a cubed Italian mountain cheese ( i use Bitto, but well...Fontina?) and pop into the oven to melt cheese and warm through. Sprinkle with un po' di grana, and you will be in 7th heaven!

Also, deepfried sage leaves make a wonderful edible garnish for many dishes.

Riz Conc ( I cant do the bits on top of the words!)

Is a traditional peasant dish from Valtellina in Italy. My Mum-in-law made this often, and was real comfort food. Stick to ya ribs kinda stuff!!

Simply wash some rice ( but leave SOME starch), add some peeled, smallish chunked potato pieces, and begin cooking in the regular amount of SALTED water you would use for non absorption method.

5 to 10 minutes before rice and potatoes are ready, chuck in as much sliced savoy cabbage or spinach/silverbeet as you like. Continue cooking.

You should not need to drain this dish at all. If you do, something has gone wrong!!! Its all an adventure really!

When ready, pour into your serving dish and top with the same brown butter mixture as above. Stir through some cubed melting cheese ( choose a good Italian one) and go step into those snowshoes!!!

Lyn

[bleudauvergne]

I would like to note that if you dry the sage, it has a completely different flavor than the fresh! Last night I marinated some chicken breasts with some dried sage which I crumbled from a bunch I'd hung up in the kitchen a few weeks ago, red onion and shallot minced finely, evoo, salt, pepper, and lemon juice. This I placed in a bed of wild mushrooms in a flat baking dish and painted over with creme fraiche. Covered with foil and baked 20 minutes at 400F/200C. The dried sage flavor really came through. It was a distinctly different flavor from the fresh sage pesto I made a few days ago.

edited to change a word I misspelled

Edited March 28, 2004 by bleudauvergne (log)

[torakris]

I went to the store to buy some sage this morning for my first attempt at sausage making. I don't know too much about sage and, obviously since I had to make a trip to the store to buy it, I don't really cook with it. Staring at the shelves I realized I had no idea what I really was looking for. There were a couple different types, one was called Dalmation sage (whole crumbled leaves). Another said it was freeze-dried(again whole crumbled leaves), which confused me because I never given a thought to exactly how are dried herbs got that way. The freeze dried type was a much brighter green than the Dalmation one. There was also ground sage and it made me remember my mother having a bottle of something called rubbed sage...

What do you do with all of these different types?

Is one better than another for all purpose use?

What exactly is Dalmation sage, just one specific variety? this is the one I bought, by the way.

[fifi]

Thank you for starting this topic! A few weeks ago, I needed to buy sage to make the turkey confit. I, too, realized how ignorant I am about this herb. I also ended up buying the Dalmation sage. How that plant is connected to spotted dogs, I haven't a clue. And what the heck is "rubbed sage?" How do you rub a sage plant? And what about those purple sage plants used in the landscaping around here? Are they edible? I know that I enjoy it in sausage. And I occasionally bump into it in "poultry seasoning" when I make cornbread dressing. And how about that word sausage, anyway?

Oh dear . . . I am only adding questions. I hope someone here has answers.

[phifly04]

http://paridss.usask.ca/specialcrop/commod.../tour/sage.html the most famous uses i think are as stated-poultry stuffing,sausage making and pasta

[Chufi]

I think rubbed sage just means that it is sort of ground into finer crumbs (after the leaves are dried). So I think the different types you buy in the shops, are all the same sage (Salvia officinalis), but just dried and/or ground in different ways.

I googled a bit and it seems that Dalmatian sage is just another name for the most commonly used type of sage, Salvia officinalis. (apparently there are more then 500 kinds of sage, among them white sage, spanish sage, clary sage ??). Couldn't find the origin of the word 'dalmatian' though. Now that will keep haunting me..

Rosemary Hemphill, in her little book Herbs for all seasons, says it has a reason that the botanical name for sage is Salvia which means health..

some of the beneficial effects she mentions:

restoring energy, aiding the digestion, bringing color back to greying hair, whitening your teeth, strengthening your gums. Also anything that has to do with throat and mouth.

Ofcourse, fresh sage is the best. Dried sage has a tendency to taste like dust.

My favorite thing to do with good, vibrant fresh sage: Melt a big lump of butter. Fry a couple of sage leaves in this until the leaves are just (but not quite) getting crispy. Toss with tagliatelle and serve with lots of freshly ground pepper and grated Parmesan.

[beccaboo]

Dalmatia is a district in Croatia, I think. Maybe that's where the dogs are from, and they must grow sage there, too....

Fresh sage goes well with squash--I often include it in squash soup, and put sage butter on my squash gnocchi.

Edited January 23, 2005 by beccaboo (log)

[Boris_A]

Sage leaves make for a funny, surprisingly tasty aperitif snack when deep fried:

Prepare a batter with 4 onz. flour, 4 onz. beer or water, 1 egg yolk, 1 tablespoon oil and salt. Then add the stiff egg white. Deep fry 24 sage leaves coated with this batter and serve warm or cold with some drops of lemon poured over. The deep frying will soften the intense, somewhat bitter flavour. For kids, you can try a bit sugar and cinnamon instead of lemon.

It's a recipe from my youth made when sage had been abundant sometimes. We called them "sage mice". An alternative to industrial made apetizers.

[JennyUptown]

Dalmatia is a district in Croatia, I think.  Maybe that's where the dogs are from, and they must grow sage there, too....

Fresh sage goes well with squash--I often include it in squash soup, and put sage butter on my squash gnocchi.

←

I agree on all accounts. The risotto I made last night (with butternut squash and pancetta) called for thyme and marjoram as well as sage. Great, great flavors that worked really well together.

[andiesenji]

Sage is an interesting herb and many varieties can be used for culinary applications.

I grow several varieties, including one with a very large leaf that can be used to wrap things which are then deep fried which lessens the sage flavor but leaves just enough to complement the filling.

I add a little sage to hushpuppies, which is a non-traditional use, but certainly adds something to the flavor.

It is very easy to grow in pots and tolerates a wide range of temperatures. It loves the desert here and some varieties seed themselves all over the place.

Sage is one of the herbs that actually is stronger when dried than when fresh. As the leaves dry, the essential oils, in little cells on the undersides of the leaves and quite visible to the naked eye, concentrate and become much stronger.

Blanching the fresh leaves arrests the development of this process if you want to keep the flavor mild by using fresh sage.

Berggarten is an excellent culinary variety and almost impossible to kill and doesn't go to seed, has fairly large leaves. I have several huge patches of it and have the gardener chop it back to the gound in the late fall and by May it is already 2 feet tall and fills the planter from side to side.

The tri-color and bi-color varieties can be used for culinary purposes.

Pineapple sage, which is often sold as an ornamental because of its striking flowers which attract hummingbirds, butterflies, etc., also has culinary uses. The fresh leaves, when crushed, have a pronounced pineapple scent and flavor and can be used in fruit and green and even vegetable salads, cut into chiffonade. It is not as hardy as the other sages but can be potted up and moved inside during the winter. It is a great plant for xeriscaping because it needs very little water.

I also have a native California sage, Cleveland sage, which, while more of a large bush than most sages, can also be substituted for common sage in cooking. It has spectacular flower spikes which are wonderful after blooming, in dried flower arrangements. It is also very hardy.

I have to have the gardeners cut it back severely, otherwise it would take over the entire garden.

I use sage in tea (Republic of Tea markets the very popular Blackberry Sage Tea, a mixture of black tea, sage leaves and dried blackberries.)

Sage is an aid to digestion, particularly in meals that include lots of fats, hence its inclusion in sausages.

Sage, various uses.

different sages.

Native Americans use sage as one of their cleansing herbs, forming it into a smudge bundle with other herbs and "bathing" in the smoke. It is said to impart wisdom.

Some people think they do not like sage because the only experience they have is with the stuff in stores which is often old and has off flavors.

The fresh herb is very different and just a hint in baked goods is very attractive.

I even add a tiny bit to crepes, sweet or savory, and just that tiny hint of flavor is just wonderful.

One interesting sidelight. Try crushing fresh sage, holding it in your cupped hands and inhale the scent and hold it for for a moment. You will immediately begin to salivate, I have used this "trick" with quite a few people who are always amazed that something so simple can have a physical effect that is immediate and obvious.

This is possibly one of the reasons that it contributes to good digestion.

One of the women in my office has had gall bladder surgery and has difficulty with fatty foods.

She makes tea with ginger and sage to drink with any meal that might contain more fat than she can usually tolerate.

Edited January 23, 2005 by andiesenji (log)

[torakris]

wow thanks for all the informative replies.

I was a bit surprised when I opened the bottle of dalmation sage and found it "fluffy" sort of like the dust you find under your couch....

not really liekt eh other dried leaves I am used to, but the sausage turned out great. After I came home though and looked at the book I realized it called for ground sage. so I just crumbled it up in my hands.

Could you use fresh sage in sausages?

and like Fifi mentioned what is up with the word sauSAGE?