Brown Butter + Fried Sage Pappardelle
One of my favorite herbs to grow is sage! It is one gorgeous plant and I love gently rubbing its soft leaves. Sage is such a earthy and savory flavor. When using it in the kitchen I’ve found you don’t really need much else to achieve a delicious meal. In fact, with only four ingredients you can whip up a fairly fancy pasta dish! You can truly do this recipe with any type of pasta, but I love the thick pappardelle noodles. They seem to make the entire dish more special IMO. (In My Opinion)
As you all know, I have a deep obsession with my tiny backyard garden! So far I’ve been able to harvest a ton of lettuce, bell peppers, jalapeños, green beans, radishes, sage, basil, rosemary, and parsley. Now that we are in Fall I have potatoes, broccoli, snap peas, three types of kale, fennel, and cabbage starting up. I also have a single corn plant named Destiny who is on her own path. I’m just merely her audience at this point. More about my garden later though … let’s get to this pasta!
Brown Butter + Fried Sage Pappardelle
Ingredients
1 pound pappardelle
8 tbs unsalted butter
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
4-5 fresh sage leaves
salt + pepper
1/2 cup of pasta water
Directions
Step 1: In a large fry pan over medium heat start by melting down your butter. While your butter melts fill a pot with water add about a tablespoon of salt into the water. Set your pot with salted water aside for now.
Step 2: You’ll want to melt down your butter nice and slow until it turns a golden brown color. What you are doing here is cooking down the milk solids until they turn brown which creates a nutty, more intense flavor.
Step 3: Creating brown butter takes about 8-10 minutes. While your butter is browning, start boiling the salted water.
Step 4: Once you have your brown butter, add in your fresh sage leaves and fry until crisp. Doing this will fragrant your brown butter sauce deliciously with sage. You’ll also want to add in a bit of salt and pepper to taste. I like about 1/2 tsp of pepper and a pinch of salt. If you are unsure, start small and you can always add more seasoning after tasting.
Step 5: While your sage leaves fry, add your pasta to the boiling water and cook until tender. Once your sage leaves are crisp let them drain on a dishtowel and use to top your pasta. At this point you will want to turn the heat down to low and stir often to keep your sauce from burning.
Step 6: Once your pasta is cooked, use tongs to transfer the pasta directly into your brown butter sauce. Use the tongs to toss the pasta and coat fully with the sauce.
Step 7: Add the Parmesan cheese and continue to toss.
Step 8: I like to add in about a 1/2 cup of pasta water (the water you used to boil the pasta) this will create more of a sauce and help bring the dish together.
Step 9: Use the tongs to swirl your pasta onto a plate and top with your fried sage leaves.
Step 10: This pasta is beyond simple and truly delicious! Enjoy right away!