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Sage Pasta
1/4 stick butter
20-30 fresh sage leaves OR 1 T dried whole sage leaves
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 pound pasta (cut pasta and noodles are both recommended)
1 C freshly grated Parmesan
1. Boil water
2. Melt butter in saucepan. Add sage, salt, and pepper. Cook about 10 minutes. Butter should be light brown.
3. Salt the water & cook the pasta until it's tender but firm. Spoon 2-3 T of the cooking water into a warm sering bowl. Drain the pasta and toss it in the bowl with the butter mixture, more pepper and half the Parmesan. Pass the other half of the cheese at the table.
(courtesy Nita and Mark Bittman)
And Variations
Pasta with Olive Oil and Sage
Substitute olive oil for all or part of the butter. A peeled, crushed garlic clove does nicely here, added along with the sage and removed before it becomes too brown. The cheese is optional.
Fettuccine Alfredo (Pasta with Butter, Eggs, Cream, and Parmesan:
Reduce the butter to 2 T. and melt it gently (if you have a few threads of saffron add them for a lovely color and aroma); eliminate the sage. In Step 3, while the pasta cooks, warm a large bowl in the oven or by filling it with hot water; when its warm, add 2 eggs, 1/2 c heavy cream, and 1 cup grated Parmesan; beat briefly. Season with pepper. When pasta is cooked, toss it with the cheese-egg-cream mixture, adding a little of the cooking water if necessary to keep the mixture moist. Drizzle with the butter and serve immediately.
Six Simple Additions to Pasta with Butter and Parmesan
Remove the sage from this basic dish and add, as you like:
1. Any minced herb of your choice or a mixture of minced herbs.
2. crisp-cooked and crumbled bacon
3. minced ham
4. cooked sweet peas.
5. cooked, drained and minced spinach
6. sauteed onions or shallots