Ever been to one of those expensive Italian restaurants that charge you a fortune for that itsy-bitsy handful of pan-fried sage leaves. Well if you happen to have sage growing wild in your garden, here’s a way to cash in and serve a memorable party dish or appetizer for your next gathering that is sure to get some compliments.
- Gather from your garden approximately 2 cups of sage leaves. For best results, if you have a variety of sages on hand, use different types of sages in the mixture. I like to use the following assortment from my yard which provides a nice blend of both small- and large-leaf sages:
- 24 leaves black sage (my favorite if you have them)
- 18 leaves Cleveland (blue) sage
- 12 leaves white sage
- 6 leaves hummingbird sage (leaves are large)
- 6 leaves culinary sage
- Pop one large bowl of popcorn and set aside.
- Add ¼ cup of extra-virgin olive oil, half a stick of butter and a dash of salt to taste to a skillet.
- Begin heating olive oil, stirring butter into the mixture as it heats.
- When the butter is half melted, add the sage leaves.
- Stir until the butter stick has melted and all the sage leaves are crisp dark green, but before they turn brown and bitter.
- Pour the mixture of olive oil, butter, and sage leaves over the popcorn.
- Serve in a large bowl and enjoy.
If you are serving soup or other dishes, consider frying up a little extra white sage or culinary sage to set aside to use as a garnish on your soup.
