Burro e Salvia

The most effortless and beloved of Italian sauces: butter melted gently with whole sage leaves until both are fragrant and the butter just begins to turn nutty and golden, the classic dressing for filled pasta, gnocchi, and ravioli

Origin: Northern Italy

From the journey of Sage.

Burro e salvia, butter and sage, is the simplest sauce in the Italian repertoire and one of the greatest, the proof that two ingredients perfectly handled can outshine a dozen. Whole sage leaves are warmed gently in good butter until the leaves crisp and the butter just begins to brown to a nutty gold, and that is all. It is the traditional and inseparable dressing for the filled pastas and dumplings of northern Italy, where a sauce must flatter rather than overwhelm a delicate stuffing: the pumpkin tortelli of Mantua, the ricotta-and-spinach ravioli, the potato gnocchi of the whole peninsula. The sage perfumes the butter, the butter coats the pasta, and a snow of grated Parmesan finishes it. There is no quicker route to the heart of Italian cooking.

Ingredients

Sauce

  • 120 g good unsalted butter
  • 16 leaves fresh sage
  • 1 pinch flaky sea salt

To serve

  • 40 g Parmesan (Parmigiano Reggiano), finely grated, to serve
  • 500 g filled pasta or gnocchi (tortelli, ravioli, or potato gnocchi), to dress

Method

  1. Cook your filled pasta or gnocchi in plenty of well-salted boiling water until they float and are just tender. Reserve a cup of the cooking water before draining.
  2. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a wide pan over medium-low heat. Add the sage leaves and let them sizzle gently for 2 to 3 minutes, until the leaves are crisp and the butter has turned a pale nutty gold and smells fragrant.
  3. Add a splash of the reserved pasta water to the pan and swirl; it will loosen the butter into a glossy, emulsified sauce that will cling to the pasta.
  4. Tip the drained pasta or gnocchi into the pan and toss gently over low heat for a minute, until each piece is coated in the sage butter.
  5. Serve at once, finished with a generous grating of Parmesan and a little flaky salt.

Notes

The quality of the butter is everything in a sauce this simple; use the best you can find. The same sage butter is wonderful spooned over roasted pumpkin or squash, polenta, or a piece of pan-fried fish or chicken. Browning the butter to a nutty beurre noisette, but no further, is the small art at the heart of the dish.

The Gastrographer

The Gastrographer

Mapping Culinary History

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Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route
Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control
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