Herbalicious Sage Burnt Butter Spaghetti

Now is the time of year when all my herb pots start coming to life again.  Having been neglected over winter, my little sage pot in particular just keeps coming back again and again.  The fresh sage leaves have now resprouted like little pieces of soft felt.  A beautiful muted green colour, they smell like menthol when I pick them.

Sage is an ancient herb, apparently with lots of medicinal properties including being good for memory (here's an interesting web page).

It took me a while to give sage burnt butter with pasta a try, mainly because I wasn’t sure I would like the richness of all the butter.  However, the process of cooking the butter until it turns a nutty brown gives it a beautiful depth of flavour.  I like to use just a little bit of butter mixed with extra virgin olive oil to cut the richness.  The fresh sage leaves cooked in it have a delicious, slightly crunchy texture and delicate flavour which also cut the richness beautifully.  I like sage burnt butter sauce best with thin spaghetti, as I find the dish can be a bit stodgy with thicker pasta or gnocchi.

This classic dish has become one of my quick and easy favourites, especially when I can use the fresh sage from my garden.   

The only thing is, this dish on its own doesn’t have the freshness of vegetables which I sometimes crave.  So the last time I made it, I served it with a simple but lovely salad - cherry tomatoes, sprinkled with a little salt and pepper, dressed with some red wine vinegar and more extra virgin olive oil.  

Here is my recipe.

Serves 2

Ingredients

150g thin spaghetti pasta

½ cup fresh sage leaves, loosely packed

25g butter

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

½ cup parmesan cheese, grated

Method

1.       Place the spaghetti in a large pot of salted boiling water and cook until al dente (about 10 minutes).

2.       While the spaghetti is cooking, place the olive oil and butter in a small saucepan.  Once the butter is melted, add the sage leaves.  Keep cooking until the butter just turns brown (watch it carefully and be careful not to overcook it).

3.       By this time, the spaghetti should be cooked.  Drain it and place it back in the pot to keep warm.  Add the sage burnt butter sauce and mix through the cooked spaghetti.

4.       Serve the spaghetti into two bowls, and scatter with the grated parmesan cheese.  Serve immediately.

5.       Accompany with a simple salad of fresh tomatoes or greens if desired.

So tell me, do you like to grow your own herbs?  And what’s your favourite recipe using them?

Girl's night in - Three tasty little morsels for when you're home alone

I’m one of those people who loves their own company.  When Mr D. is out, this usually means making dinner for myself and luxuriating on the couch watching my favourite cooking shows on TV (the ones that bore Mr D. to tears J).  I have to confess I’m quite lazy sometimes on these occasions.  I have been known to dig into a bowl of cereal or two-minute noodles to avoid having to cook for myself  - terrible, I know.  So in an effort for redemption, here’s some ideas for a few little dishes that are quick and easy, with minimum shopping, minimum fuss and minimum washing up.  You can whip them up in around 10-15 minutes and have them all to yourself! 

Eggs on toast

Split and toast an English muffin, top with a couple of slices of premium leg ham and two softly poached eggs (ones that are runny in the middle still), squirt with barbecue sauce (or tomato or whatever) and scatter with baby spinach leaves.

Haloumi with salad

Take slices of haloumi and lightly fry until golden brown, sprinkle with heaps of freshly squeezed lemon juice.  Serve with a quick salad of rocket/baby spinach leaves, cherry tomatoes and pumpkin seeds (pepitas), dressed with a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  Add some toasted bread and hommus if you feel like it.

Crepes with blueberries

Take some frozen French crepes heated in the microwave (these are one of my favourite convenience products), add some thick natural yoghurt, scatter with fresh blueberries and drizzle with real maple syrup.

So tell me, what’s your favourite thing to cook for yourself?

Quick and Dirty – Pasta Carbonara to the Rescue!

I’m driving home from my uni class.  It’s almost 8pm.  I’m hungry.  I’m tired.  What the heck am I going to cook for dinner? 

I walk in the front door.  My partner Mr D is laid out on the couch.  “Hi Sweetie!  How was your day?”.  (I’m glad you’re home.  What’s for dinner?). For all you indignant readers, Mr D has cooked the last two nights in a row and we have an understanding that it’s my turn to cook.  Damn, I knew I should have negotiated smarter!

I have no idea what’s in the fridge.  I open it with trepidation.  What’s this? A packet of prosciutto.  Yes, I’m saved!  The rest is easy – parmesan cheese, eggs, frozen peas, garlic, spaghetti. 

I take my booty and lay it out on the bench.  Right, let’s go! I put a large pan of water on the boil, chop the garlic, tear the prosciutto into little bits.  A pinch of salt into the boiling water, then in goes the spaghetti.  Next, I heat a large frypan and cook the garlic and prosciutto for a minute.  Then the peas go in for two minutes, until they are frost-free and warmed right through.  Then it’s off the heat.

It doesn’t take long to grate the parmesan cheese and put it in a cup with the eggs.  By the time I mix it all together, the pasta is cooked (about 10 minutes all up).  Next is the fast and furious bit, and it’s important to be quick.  I drain the water from the pasta and return it to the pan.  I tip the prosciutto mixture onto the pasta.  Then I speedily stir the egg and cheese mixture through the pasta to make sure the egg doesn’t set.  A quick grind of black pepper and it’s all done! 

Into two deep bowls, and voila!  Dinner is served – in about 20 minutes.

So that’s the quick bit.  The dirty bit is all the dishes (sigh!).

Ingredients

Dried spaghetti pasta – 200g (about one large handful)

Garlic – 3 cloves

Prosciutto – 100g vacuum sealed packet

Frozen peas – 1 cup

Parmesan cheese – ½ cup

Eggs – 2 large ones

Ground black pepper

Serves 2 hungry people.

What's your favourite quick meal?