My Retired Boss sent some fruits of her garden into the office. I got some cherry tomatoes, a large jalapeno-type chile, some Asian chiles, and a bunch of sage. RB made sure my coworker put the sage on my desk, thinking I could use it for Thanksgiving. OK… So how do I use it?
I roast a turkey with stuffing every year. And by ‘stuffing’, I mean stuffing and not dressing. I usually get it in a box, so it’s already seasoned – with sage. I could just get unseasoned bread and add my own seasonings, including the sage. In that case, would I chiffonade the leaves and mix them in?
Did I not stuff the bird, I could put the herbs into the cavity. But I do stuff it. Anything else I can do with a bunch of sage?
Sage shows up a lot in Thanksgiving recipes of any kind. It’s a main ingredient in common poultry seasonings, so probably acquired for the turkey and then added to everything and anything in the food feast.
I use it in sauces and soups, and it’s a good seasoning for meat. I don’t use it that much myself, just doesn’t turn up in my usual recipes so I often have none around.
Almost forgot, it’s the ingredient that distinguishes breakfast sausage from other types. Last time I had fresh sage around I was making breakfast sausage.
Sage, to me, is the scent of Thanksgiving and, to a lesser extent, Christmas. The instant I make the first cut into some sage, and the smell comes wafting up to my nostrils is just so comforting and lovely.
By all means, I would suggest buying unseasoned bread cubes (or even make your own) and using the fresh sage for your stuffing. That way you can use as much or as little as you want. I chiffonade and then make a few slices perpendicular to the chiffonades for a rough chop. I have also been known to slip some whole sage leaves under the skin of the bird before roasting.
Sage leaves are also a key, defining ingredient in Saltimbocca.
I think I’ve had cocktails made with sage.
The peachfuzzy leaves of fresh sage gives me the willys.
Thhe fried sage described upthread is good on popcorn.
The purification ritual is done with North American plants salvia apiana or artemisia ludoviciana, both called White Sage. The herb is salvia officinalis, an Old World plant called Common Sage or Garden Sage. The recent popularity of the cleansing ritual has been blame for destruction of much wild White Sage, and also criticized as ‘cultural appropriation’.
Thanks for the clarification. I wasn’t aware of a cleansing fad, but it doesn’t surprise me. We’ve attended quite a number of NA events here in the PNW where sage is used to banish bad spirits. One of them set off the smoke alarm system at the Portland Art Museum, which was fun for all. We recently purchased a drum made by an artist with the local Cherokee society. He included a bundle of sage and a sweet grass plait, which smells wonderful.
Your post reminded me to check that out. It also occurred to me that I didn’t quite know what Sagebrush was, but knew it wasn’t where the herb Sage came from. And White Sage used in cleansing rituals is unrelated to the various plants called Sagebrush also. Oddly, the wiki on Sagebrush doesn’t address its affinity for abandoned western towns.
I use it in Fagioli All’uccelletto, which I make a lot - I have this dish for lunch sometimes and also use it as a side dish. It’s a great savory alternative to sugary American baked beans, and is pretty simple to make. I use good-quality canned beans and it only takes about a half hour to prepare, start to finish.
I also just added some sage today to a spicy sausage sauce I’ll use to make a lasagna tomorrow.
You can of course dry and/or freeze any you don’t use soon.