Sage Brown Butter Sauce

The other day my mom was asking what to do with all the sage she is growing in her garden.  I suggested a mouth-watering Sage Brown Butter Sauce to go with a heavy pasta, such as gnocchi, ravioli, or tortellini.  It only has three ingredients that can come together in less than 15 minutes for a quick and easy mid-week meal.  Don't forget the crusty bread to sop up the sauce!

Ingredients:
6 tbs butter
2 tbs sage, chopped
1/4 cup parmesan
1/3 cup pasta water
heavy pasta, I used meat ravioli

Chop up the sage and melt the butter over medium-low heat in a skillet.

Once butter begins to bubble add in the sage.

Swirl the pan occasionally to ensure the butter or sage doesn't burn.  When it starts to brown add in parmesan.  It will make the sauce foam a little.

After boiling your pasta save 1/3 cup of the water.  The starch from the pasta releases into the water and helps thicken the sauce.  Add the water into the pan.

Toss together your pasta and sauce in the skillet.

The sage should becomes crisp in the sauce.  Mmmm!

*** A great question was asked in the comment section about what other herbs can be used instead of sage.  I had several ideas, but I didn't want to lead you in the wrong direction without trying them out first for myself.  So I had a little experiment to taste what combinations would work best.  Instead of making seven batches of sauce, however, I browned the butter and added the herbs individually in small cups.  I then cooked up some pasta to dip in each cup.

I experimented with Oregano, Thyme, Basil, Parsley, Rosemary, Dill Flower, and Italian Seasoning.  All herbs were fresh from the garden except the Italian seasoning.

My favorites were Rosemary and the Italian seasoning.  As predicted, the parsley was a flunk.  It tasted like plain brown butter with hardly any herb flavor.  The oregano was very strong, the thyme was palatable, the basil was incredibly basil-y, and the dill flower was mellow.  I honestly think sage is the best herb to use for this recipe, however there are options.