Time poor? Hate food waste? In possession of a lush sage bush? Perhaps you were gifted a bunch of sage from a green thumbed friend and now that soft silver beauty has wilted, begun glaring at you accusingly, whispering "you frivolous food waste monster" every time you walk past & looking like she might decide to turn black for funsies the moment you turn your back...
Whilst it might seem like a slight dramatisation of actual events, we've all thrown a black herb or two into the compost and wished we had done something Pinterest worthy with it for a rainy day. Enter stage left the queen of leftovers Elly Curshen who shared this brilliant 2 min hack for drying sage in the microwave on her instagram account recently that had us in a bit of a tizz.
Ingredients
- Fresh sage (the amount can vary, depends on what you don't want to waste!)
- Plate
- 2 Paper Towels
- Microwave
- Clean glass jar with an airtight lid
Method
- Wash and dry your sage leaves & pluck from the main stem so you just have each leaf and it's stalk.
- Pop a piece paper towel on a microwave safe plate and lay out your sage leaves in a single layer.
- Put the second paper towel over the top & microwave for 30 second bursts on high until your sage leaves have gently crisped & are completely dry. It took 2 mins in our microwave but we definitely recommend zapping it in bursts so you don't end up with burnt sage #notthevibeatall.
- Store in a clean jar with an airtight lid & use as needed - the aromatics/flavour is almost on par with fresh sage.
Some other "sage" ideas we love...
Fresh Sage:
- Sage and Brown Butter Ravioli (see below for the recipe)
- Roasted Chicken with Fresh Sage and Lemon
- Sage-Infused Pumpkin or Sweet Potato Soup
- Sage and Garlic Mashed Potatoes
- Pork Chops with Sage and Apple Cider Glaze
Dried Sage:
- Sage Infused Salt
- Sage and Butter Stuffed Mushrooms
- Creamy Sage and Mushroom Risotto
- Sage Salt Seasoned Roasted Potatoes
- Infused Olive Oil with Dried Sage
- Sage and White Bean Soup
The perfect brown butter recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup firmly packed salted butter
- 10-14 fresh sage leaves
- Freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- 1 Lemon
- Fresh ricotta & spinach ravioli or fresh gnocchi to serve
Method
- Add your butter to a pan & turn to a medium low heat.
- As soon as the butter melts & starts to foam up, add the sage leaves (make sure they are dry) and cook for 3 to 5 minutes.
- The butter will continue to foam up and start turning brown. Do not touch it, and do not stir it...hold yourself back piggo!