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Sage advice for what do to with sage?

Posted on August 20th, 2008 – 8:18 AM
By Connie Nelson

I don’t have much sun in my back yard, so I’ve given up trying to grow vegetables back there. (Ok, I didn’t entirely give up. I planted two darling little cucumbers — and they’re looking like the runts of the litter.)

I did manage to squeeze a bunch of herbs into my flower gardens out front. And I guess I got a little carried away. I planted two kinds of basil, two kinds of parsley (flat and curly), rosemary, thyme, tarragon, oregano, lavender and sage.

I’ve made pesto with both the basil and the parsley, used rosemary on roasted potatoes, used the tarragon, thyme and oregano in salads and topped a few desserts with lavender blossoms. But I’m stuck when it comes to the sage.

I know sage is used in the dressing at Thanksgiving, but that’s a ways away. What can I do with it until then? Any sage advice on using sage? Oh, and as long as I’m asking you to go all culinary here, what’s your highest and best use for thyme, tarragon and all the rest?

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 20th, 2008 at 8:18 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

24 Responses to "Sage advice for what do to with sage?"

bsimon says:

August 20th, 2008 at 9:34 am

For sage, use it in a cornmeal based stuffing that goes into a pork tenderloin slow cooked on the grill. Ideally use hickory for the fire. Dee-licious! Consider also rubbing the loin with a garlic-rosemary-sage blend.

Sage is also good in egg dishes, like omelettes.

Karen says:

August 20th, 2008 at 9:50 am

Shortbread (for any savory herb)! Comes out all sweet and savory. Makes wonderful gifts, too.

I make a version of yorkshire pudding, served with chicken or beef, and I load it full of sage. Turns out wonderfully.

Connie Nelson says:

August 20th, 2008 at 9:51 am

Thanks, Bsimon!
How do I do the garlic-rosemary-sage blend? Is it sort of like a paste or more of dry rub?

Jess says:

August 20th, 2008 at 10:06 am

I like to make sage butter - basically saute a bunch of sage in a lot of butter (like a whole stick). Then I use it on pasta - it’s great on plain pasta, and fantastic if you’ve got some frozen butternut squash ravioli around. Also, it’s yummy on popcorn with a little grated parmesan. We’re not talking health food here, but it’s a nice decadence every once in a while.

Now if I could only figure out what to do with the sorrel and epazote that I planted this year trying to be all fancy and exotic….

anneesha says:

August 20th, 2008 at 10:15 am

Toss butternut squash cubes with olive oil and chopped fresh sage, and roast in a medium-hot oven till crispy like “tots”. Give it a stir partway through. A little salt at the end.

Saw Jess was wondering about epazote - WHAT is that stuff? It’s very stinky, isn’t it? I know it’s a Mexican food type herb, but never have had the courage to use it.

Weird Aunt Martha says:

August 20th, 2008 at 11:00 am

Connie - this is a pretty tasty recipe, I made it last week (I added a few other herbs as well)

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Herb-Roasted-Pork/Detail.aspx

Allrecipes is a fun site too, they have an ingredient search - you can indicate what you have & what you don’t have and it will match recipes.

Here’s a little blurb on epazote for commenters above http://www.apinchof.com/epazote1089.htm

Cindy says:

August 20th, 2008 at 12:49 pm

Sage: Meat Loaf, chicken soup & cream soups. Thyme is awesome on scramled eggs with bacon pieces. Basil is great on anything especially chili & fresh Tomatoes. I’m not too big on rosemary although I love the smell. I think I just grow it to grow stuff :-)

bsimon says:

August 20th, 2008 at 12:50 pm

“How do I do the garlic-rosemary-sage blend? Is it sort of like a paste or more of dry rub?”

I just wing it every time. I usually intend to make a dry rub, then end up adding olive oil. I haven’t yet made it as a paste. So semi-dry rub?

Connie Nelson says:

August 20th, 2008 at 1:30 pm

Thanks, Bsimon. I’ll go for a semi-dry rub!

Connie Nelson says:

August 20th, 2008 at 1:33 pm

Geeze, this is making me hungry. I love the sage butter, Jess. (I think even I can make that.) The butternut squash tots sound terrific, too.

I’ve heard of sorrel (don’t know how to use it) but I’ve never heard of epazote. What the heck is it, where’d you find it and what ARE you going to do with it, Anneesha?

anneesha says:

August 20th, 2008 at 2:30 pm

Connie re: epazote - I worked a few summers at a small neighborhood garden center and they carried epazote — I can’t quite remember what the smell of the crushed leaves reminded me of (foul motor oil, maybe?) but it had nothing appetizing about it. But then again, I used to think fish sauce and goat cheese were stanky.

Connie Nelson says:

August 20th, 2008 at 2:42 pm

I love goat cheese and use fish sauce in curry, but don’t have any idea about how to use epazote. They do at this site, tho:

http://www.apinchof.com/epazote1089.htm

Jess says:

August 20th, 2008 at 3:00 pm

Thanks for the info! I bought the plant this summer at the Dehn’s Herb stand at the Mpls Farmer’s Market. All I knew about epazote before I planted it is that they use it on a lot of the dishes at La Sirena Gorda at the Midtown Global Market and I’ve always loved the lemony flavor. I’ve heard it’s a good substitute for cilantro, which is great because cilantro tastes like soap to me. The plant itself has grown a ton - so I have a whole lot of epazote to use up…

CindyLou says:

August 20th, 2008 at 4:27 pm

Sage and lemon tea when I feel a cold coming on. I’ve always used dried sage, never fresh, but with dried sage it’s about a teaspoon of sage in a tea ball in a mug of hot water, steep for five minutes, add some lemon juice and (for my taste) a little sweetener. It makes me sweat, and the cold seems to have the edge taken off it if you know what I mean.

Connie Nelson says:

August 20th, 2008 at 4:48 pm

CindyLou, I’ve dried herbs before, but never made tea from them… Sounds interesting, but how does it taste?

(Have you ever tried ginger as a pre-cold, good-sweat treatment? Just chop up some fresh ginger, stick it in a tea ball or bit of cheesecloth and let it steep — along with you — in a hot tub. Talk about sweat city!)

Fiona says:

August 20th, 2008 at 5:52 pm

Sage and Pork are a marriage made in heaven. Any kind of pork/onion/sage or pork/apple/sage combination works, whether it is pork loin, pork roast, pork chop or pancetta or bacon. I love just frying up some pancetta and crisping up some sage leaves, and then tossing that with pasta. Onion soup with sage and cheddar is lovely too and as others have mentioned, squashes are a great match with sage. I find I use a lot of Jamie Oliver recipes when I’m looking for great use of lots of garden produce at once. His Jamie at Home book is a joy that way.

Of course I’ve also been known to burn a lot of sage to try and remove some curses and change my luck in my day too.

Mel says:

August 21st, 2008 at 8:55 am

My favorite use of sage is to pan fry the individual leaves and toss with salt and pepper. I put the sage chips on a variety of fall-inspired dishes, including a sautee of butternut squash and brussel sprouts.

Matt says:

August 21st, 2008 at 9:06 am

Mel is right on. I make a simple egg wash before I fry them in olive oil and it helps to hold them together. Great on top of some butternut squash soup on a fall day! Also nice to decorate small pieces of Bruschetta. I have lots of herb in pots. I also dig up the garden ones and pot them about this time. I bring them all in for the winter and the summer herb goodness never stops. The mint is getting out of hand now…..so we are having a blender party this weekend and every drink will include mint!

CindyLou says:

August 21st, 2008 at 10:05 am

Connie, sage tea tastes a little like liquid stuffing, but the lemon and sweetener help with that. You have to fiddle with the amounts to get something that is drinkable. One cup will usually do it for me.

I have friends who swear by ginger for fighting colds, but I seem to always have sage in the house and never ginger.

This thread is making me hungry.

Connie Nelson says:

August 21st, 2008 at 10:10 am

No kidding. I get hungry every time I read this blog! All I want to do is go home and make sage tea, sage chips (how cool is that?), sage and pork . . .
Thanks all!

Connie Nelson says:

August 21st, 2008 at 12:19 pm

Oh, one more question. For longer term use, do you dry your herbs or freeze them?

I make lots of pesto and freeze that, but usually dry most of the other herbs by hanging them. But I end up not usings them . . . What do you all do?

longfellowgirl says:

August 25th, 2008 at 8:34 am

Epazote can be cut, dried, and cut into small pieces and stored. I do this and use it in beans when I make them from scratch in the winter. It’s a natural “Beano” and adds some good flavor to the beans too. I hear you can also make tea out of it, but that it’s an acquired taste. Check it out: http://www.apinchof.com/epazote1089.htm and http://mexicanfood.about.com/od/spanishterms/g/Epazote.htm

Claire says:

September 2nd, 2008 at 1:32 pm

I have a bunch of glass jars for my dried herbs. Use them all winter long, especially the Thyme, Oregano, Sage (keep the leaves somewhat whole in the jar and “rub” it for the recipe) and rosemary. Start fresh every spring and toss the old stuff on the grill. Sometimes dried herbs work better than fresh. Basil and parsley work better frozen.

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