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sage


guajolote

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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. :wacko:  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?

The dust bunny you found is "rubbed" sage

Rubbed is essentially precrumbled. Some sages have a very fuzzy surface to the leaf and my guess is that the term rubbing came from trying to remove the more flavorfull softer part of the leaf while leaving the more fiberous structure behind.

kurt

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Sage is one of the oldest culinary and medicinal herbs; and there are few with more varietals around the world. You can find sages with a variety of flavours grown for internal use; and sages in a variety of colours for decorative use.

I love fresh sage but am ambivalent at best about dried, so I tend to freeze mine whenever possible. It does lose some flavour, but retains a "fresh sage" character as opposed to a "dried sage" character.

Sage partners admirably with onions and their cousins. It is also wonderful with a wide range of cheeses. Chiffonade a leaf of fresh sage in to your next grilled cheese sandwich and you'll be amazed. Even better, combine it with caramelized onions in your next grilled cheese sandwich. Or for your next party, find a chunk of sage Derby, a gorgeously green English cheese similar to a sharp cheddar, but simply packed with the flavour and colour of fresh sage.

For a variation on the digestive tea theme, infuse a bottle of vodka with fresh sage and have shots with your appetizers.

"Rubbed" sage is exactly what the name suggests, more or less. Most of us, when adding fresh or dried herbs to a dish, bruise them gently with our fingers to release the flavours. Commercially "rubbed" herbs essentially do the same thing, albeit on an industrial scale. They retain somewhat more flavour than the ground, although less than home-dried. Ground dried herbs are vile and should never be purchased except in the direst extremity.

I would rhapsodize at greater length and in more detail, but I've loaned my herbal to a friend.

“Who loves a garden, loves a greenhouse too.” - William Cowper, The Task, Book Three

 

"Not knowing the scope of your own ignorance is part of the human condition...The first rule of the Dunning-Kruger club is you don’t know you’re a member of the Dunning-Kruger club.” - psychologist David Dunning

 

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I've had an excellent pasta dish that combined fresh slivered sage, roasted butternut squash and freshly grated parmesan cheese. The combo is delicious, and I think the recipe actually was a cooking light one, so it was lowfat too, but didn't taste it. 

Pam

I make a similar dish using tortellini that is baked. It is a delicious combo.

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  • 2 weeks later...
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.

My wife and I once spent days cooking a multi-course dinner for ten, and this was the only thing the guests we still comenting on a week later.

As long as you're deep frying, you can dip onion rings inbutter milk and crust them with flour mixed with powdered sage and serve the two mixed together. Preferably, in my view, accompanied by a large piece of American beef and your favorite baked bean dish of the moment.

I'm on the pavement

Thinking about the government.

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I love fresh sage, pay no attention to the cat pee smell! :unsure:

Favorite fresh sage recipe, similar to others mentioned. Brown finely diced pancetta in a mixture of 2/3 butter, 1/3 olive oil, and then add a little diced garlic. Add chopped fresh sage leaves and cook until it comes together over medium heat. salt and pepper to taste. Serve with gnochhi of your choice and grated parmesan. Powerful rich sauce, you don't need a whole lot on each serving.

I'm no sausage making expert, but I've has many sausages that were, in my opinion over-saged. I'd start out with an easy hand on the sage and figger out how much it takes.

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It was only after planting sage in a small kitchen garden that I grew to love this herb. I keep some dried on hand but find that I use it only when i make stuffing for poultry.

What I find interesting about sage is that while its flavor is very strong it can pair well with delicate flavors. One of my favorite early discoveries was how delicious sage is with fresh-water fish such as trout. I like to rub the inside of a whole boned trout with EVOO, salt and pepper, and sprinkle with a minced clove of garlic and a light chiffonade of sage, ocassionally diced fried pancetta. For years I thought this combo was my own discovery--until a trip to Piedmont (NW Italy) and found it to be very common. Another typical use for sage in Piedmont is fried, in browned butter, as a sauce for fresh pasta. An almost effortless sauce that is sublime, especially on a handmade stuffed pasta like agnolotti with a sprinkle of parmesan.

I can't wait to try some sage in my next grilled cheese sandwich, yum.


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Dont forget 'Saltimbocca', (jump in the mouth?) as my book describes it:

thin slices of veal cut from the leg, flattened and rubbed with garlic, seasoned. put a sage leaf on each slice of veal and top with a slice of raw proscuitto, keep the ham in place with a toothpic. Cook in hot butter until the meat is golden brown. add Marsala or sherry , and then let it cook slowly for 15 or 20 minutes. Serve with the gravy from the pan.

Edited as my touch typing is not what it was.

Edited by naguere (log)

Martial.2,500 Years ago:

If pale beans bubble for you in a red earthenware pot, you can often decline the dinners of sumptuous hosts.

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  • 4 months later...

In every sense of the word ... but specifically, have made my first foray into having a proper garden this year, and amongst the herb plants I have tried was some fresh sage.

Clearly this is a plant that responds well to my neglect since from a little plant bought from the garden centre, it has now flourished into quite a healthy looking plant. It has oodles of leaves, some of which are even longer and fatter than my fingers! So, feel I should use up some of this bounty before it dies off or I trim it back.

Question is what can I do with it. Guess the obvious things are sage butter for pasta, variations on a salitimbocca theme (e.g. monkfish kebabs with pancetta and sage), and have even seen a recipe for sage sorbet. Not so bothered about sage and onion stuffing. Have done a dish whereby you bake sausages in the oven with lots of sage and a bit of oil, then add some thin slices of potatoes and stock and let it all cook together to make a kind of soupy hotpot type dish.

Alternatively - will they freeze well - or will they collapse on me upon defrosting?

All help gratefully received

Yin

X

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Good in gnocchi

Fresh sage has a more pronounced flavour than you might think

Should freeze ok but won't retain shape after defrosting - just drop it into soup stew stock after

J

In every sense of the word ... but specifically, have made my first foray into having a proper garden this year, and amongst the herb plants I have tried was some fresh sage.

Clearly this is a plant that responds well to my neglect since from a little plant bought from the garden centre, it has now flourished into quite a healthy looking plant.  It has oodles of leaves, some of which are even longer and fatter than my fingers!  So, feel I should use up some of this bounty before it dies off or I trim it back.

Question is what can I do with it.  Guess the obvious things are sage butter for pasta, variations on a salitimbocca theme (e.g. monkfish kebabs with pancetta and sage), and have even seen a recipe for sage sorbet.  Not so bothered about sage and onion stuffing.  Have done a dish whereby you bake sausages in the oven with lots of sage and a bit of oil, then add some thin slices of potatoes and stock and let it all cook together to make a kind of soupy hotpot type dish. 

Alternatively - will they freeze well - or will they collapse on me upon defrosting?

All help gratefully received

Yin

X

More Cookbooks than Sense - my new Cookbook blog!
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Sage is very estrogenic...Sage tea is a great way to relieve, well, woman issues :biggrin: Cramps, bloat, that kind of thing...also extremely good for hot flashes and other menopause type symptoms.

Don't try to win over the haters. You're not the jackass whisperer."

Scott Stratten

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

Dalmatia makes up most of the coastline (Adriatic) of Croatia. The dogs may or may not orginate from there, but Zinfandel grapes originate from there (As do the Balic's).

Never heard of the sage. Salvia officinalis is a speces name, there are many different strains within this species, often with different flavours etc. Maybe Dalmatian sage is a specific strain?

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