I recently remarked to a sympathetic friend how difficult it is to buy fresh sage around here. There aren’t many sage recipes in French cuisine, so it’s not part of the classic range of fresh herbs sold at produce shops or at the green market. But I enjoy its flavor very much, so I decided I would try and find seeds to grow my own.
Only days later, I walked past the sidewalk display of Etablissements Lion on my way home, and noticed that they sold potted sage plants that looked exceptionally healthy. I couldn’t resist; I chose the most beautiful one and adopted it.
It now rooms with our blooming strawberry plants on the bathroom window sill, but it is so bushy I thought I’d better start thinking of ideas to put it to good use. And I did what any modern person would do: I turned to twitter and asked, “What do you like to do with sage?”
The response was multicolored and inspired, and I thought it would be a pity not to share it with you. Surely there are other owners of expansive sage plants who would benefit. So here’s a compilation of the suggestions I collected — my sincere thanks go to the twitterers who kindly contributed their ideas.
Best Pairings for Sage Recipes
– Sage + eggs (i.e. in an omelette)
– Sage + chicken (i.e. roast chicken with sage and lemon inside the cavity)
– Sage + lamb (i.e. in lamb burger patties)
– Sage + fried liver + croutons
– Sage + polenta
– Sage + onion (i.e. in stuffing)
– Sage + white beans (i.e. in white bean hummous or an open sandwich)
– Sage + apple
– Sage + pineapple
– Sage + roasted peanuts
Sage uses
– Sage butter on gnocchi
– Sage butter on ravioli, especially pumpkin ravioli
– Sage butter on trout
– Sage olive oil with pasta and parmesan
– Put some leaves into pesto with other herbs.
– Add sage to duck sausage.
– Add sage to bean dishes.
– Infuse honey with sage.
– Use with parsley, rosemary and thyme in chicken risotti and soups.
– Add along with fresh parsley, basil, thyme, and rosemary to tomato sauces.
– Deep-fry the leaves and serve as an appetizer, or use as a garnish for poultry, meat dishes, or pasta.
Ideas for sage recipes
– Sandwich an anchovy between two leaves, batter and fry for great antipasto.
– Feta, prosciutto and sage involtini
– Sage on asparagus with shaved pecorino
– Lay two sage leaves over a long slice of sweet potato and wrap with a slice of prosciutto. Roast for 20 minutes or so with some olive oil (credit to Mark Bittman).
– Italian bread and cabbage soup with sage butter
– Roast butternut squash on a thick bed of it.
– Sage and goats’ cheese gnocchi
– Sweet potato gnocchi with chestnuts and fried sage
– Put leaves on fish, wrap in prosciutto and sear in clarified butter and olive oil; finish in the oven.
– Take half a chicken breast, place 2 or 3 sage leaves on top, wrap in Parma ham, pack in foil, bake at 180°C (360°F). Open top side of package, pour in some dry white wine, and leave open in oven for 20 more minutes or until done.
– Wrap a flattened chicken thigh in prosciutto with a leaf of sage and pan-cook.
– Pan-fry chicken breasts, add sage, red onion, lemon & crème fraîche.
– Sauté chicken livers with shallots and sage, season, then add a little cream. Toss through pappardelle.
– Sauté lamb chops with a sage leaf on each side.
– Saltimboca (veal, sage and prosciutto)
– Pork, sage and apple burgers
– Mold around a piece of pork sausage (out of casing), batter and fry.
– Sage and cheddar biscuits or pumpkin sage biscuits
– Sage ice cream
– Sage panna cotta
Other uses for sage
– Freeze in ice cubes for summer drinks.
– Sage tea is a great remedy for sore throat.
– Sage plants give the most beautiful blooms!
