Brown Butter Sage Sauce

A delicious and simple sauce with brown butter, brown sugar and sage. Fall flavors complete any pasta or harvest dish--especially good over ravioli and butternut squash! Just the right amount of subtle sweetness and heat. Vegetarian.

Course Dressings/Sauces, Main Course

Cuisine American, Autumn Flavors, Italian

Keyword Brown Butter Sage Sauce, Brown Butter Sauce

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 10

Resting Time 5

Total Time 20

Servings people

Calories 418kcal

Author Emma J. Watling

Equipment

heavy bottomed skillet (stainless steel or enameled cast iron)

Ingredients

12 ounces pasta of choice ravioli, rigatoni, tortellini, etc.
8 Tablespoons salted butter, cubed = 1 stick
6 to 8 fresh sage leaves, thinly sliced
1½ Tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
black pepper optional, to taste
shaved parmesan optional, to taste

Instructions

Boil water for pasta and prepare according to package directions. Set a medium heatproof bowl aside. Meanwhile,
Add butter to a medium skillet (stainless steel or enameled cast iron preferred). Turn heat to medium and melt the butter, stirring often (1 to 2 minutes).
Turn heat to medium-low and cook butter, stirring constantly, until it develops a rich, golden brown color and a nutty aroma. This process takes about 5 minutes.
When the butter is browned, immediately pour into the heatproof bowl. Whisk in brown sugar, red pepper flakes and sage.
Combine cooked pasta with sauce in a large serving bowl and stir to coat; let stand 3-5 minutes. Serve and enjoy! Top with black pepper and/or Parmesan if desired.

Notes

Cooking tips: don't walk away from the pan during cooking

stirring constantly helps the butter brown evenly so it doesn't burn.
Once the butter melts, the solids will begin to break down and separate (after 2 or 3 minutes), then the butter will become foamy and start to brown. Watch butter carefully once it browns to avoid burning.
Pouring butter into the heatproof bowl immediately will stop the cooking process.
- The butter will have small specks of dark brown throughout (these are the caramelized milk solids and where most of the flavor comes from so scrape all of those into the bowl!)
Caution: hot butter has a chance of popping and splattering so use caution when stirring (a deep sided pan can help).

Try this pasta dish with added veggies: zucchini, bell pepper, broccoli, mushroom, squash, etc are all delicious! Add 2 cups of veggies to the 12 ounces of pasta for best results.

Calories shown with 1 cup of butternut squash ravioli + 1/4 of the sauce. A serving of the sauce alone contains 218 calories.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cup | Calories: 418kcal