What to do with sage...

[yomyb]

Organic buying club gave me a bunch and I don't use it much in my cooking. I know it is such a wonderful and fragrant thing...but I just have never experimented with it much. I usually use it for polenta. Today I was thinking of trying a pesto...but what else???

[link_930]

Sage has got to be one of my favorite herbs! I fry them, then use in scallopini, crumble into rice, beat into butter and spread on a thick slice of good sourdough, use with eggs and a nice bit of goat brie with prosciutto, place between skin and meat before roasting chicken, and the list goes on!

[scuzzo]

I think Sage's best partners are: poultry, pork, and especially mushrooms! Eggs too.

[Gio]

Me too....

I harvested a bunch of sage from our garden earlier today and am drying the leaves on the stems for winter use. It will be used in all of the items scuzzo mentioned, and
more. I hang the stems 5 or 6 to a bunch and fasten them with an elastic so as the herb dries the elastic contracts and still hold the stems fast. The dried herbs are then put into airtight containers...still on the stems. I don't crumple the leaves till I'm going to use them. The aroma of fresh herbs is heavenly.

[yomyb]

Thanks everyone! Everything sounds wonderful. Given it's almost the holidays I am thinking something with squash and butter....nice.

Keep the ideas coming! I might end up with some more next pick up day ;-)

[sidnek]

I made a tasty pasta sauce recently with fresh pumpkin (butternut squash would be great too) and sage. Here it is:
- cut pumpkin or butternut squash into small cubes (1/2 inch by 1/2 inch). need about 2 cups of cubed pumpkin. boil for about 15 minutes or until fork-tender. reserve about 2 cups of cooking water.
- in a deep pot or wok, melt a couple of tablespoons each of butter and olive oil. add a bunch of lightly chopped garlic cloves (I used about 10). After garlic begins to become fragrant and translucent, add about 20 sage leaves (whole). add a teaspoon of crushed red pepper, and a little s+p to taste. cook for 5 more minutes over medium-low heat
- add cooked pumpkin to butter/garlic/sage mixture. season with 1 tsp of cinnamon, 1 tsp of nutmeg and 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne (or to your taste). sautee for 5 minutes, tossing to evenly coat pumpkin with butter mixture.
- add reserved pumpkin water, cover and simmer until pumpkin begins to break up about 10 minutes. use wooden spoon to crush pumpkin if necessary. more water might be needed if mixture begins to stick to pan.
- add 1/2 cup of cream or half and half. season to taste with salt and pepper. toss with pasta.

[OysterHo]

We did something similar and it was delicious!

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/sa...

I wouldn't bother separating the brussel sprout leaves though, what a pain! Maybe just cut them in quarters or slice them.

[Sherri]

Northern Italian-style Liver & Onions -- slowly caramelize 2 large, sliced onions in olive oil. 3/4 # liver, thinly sliced or cut into 1" squares. After onions are soft & brown, increase heat to high, add liver and toss frequently for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat, top w/ a TBLS minced fresh sage and serve immediately.
Leftovers (??) whirled in the FP make a speedy pseudo-pate spread for crackers.

[icey]

Oh, I forgot to add that if you have too much, you can freeze it, and I find that it freezes pretty well.

[mschow]

icey:
can you provide details on exactly how you froze sage? Thanks

[icey]

You can fry it in a very light batter. You can make sage - butter sauce for pasta. Add it to roast potatoes or on roast chicken. I would not recommend a pesto, I think it is too strongly flavoured. I think its a great herb, but use it in moderation, because if you add too much to a dish, I find that it just overpowers it.

[JoanN]

Someone was asking recently about favorite Marcella Hazan recipes. This one, for spareribs with sage, is one of mine:

http://needsmoregarlic.typepad.com/ne...

[carswell]

Check out this thread from earlier in the month: www.chowhound.com/topics/407123

Searching the board for sage will turn up many more ideas.

[yomyb]

Thanks.

[linguafood]

Yes, it's excellent when you get it slightly crispy in browned butter, then serve over pasta. It's also great for putting under chicken skin before roasting. It works well with poultry, pork, and lamb.

[carswell]

"it's excellent when you get it slightly crispy in browned butter, then serve over pasta"

Especially when the pasta is squash-stuffed ravioli.

[PamelaD]

Saute up some onions or leeks in olive oil till nice and soft and starting to carmelize then toss in a handfull of chopped sage and some diced up proscuitto. Use this as a pasta sauce and sprikle on some parmesan or as a pizza topping by topping a crust with fontina cheese then this mixture and sprinkle with parmeson and bake.

P