Fresh Fettuccine With Butter Peas And Sage Sauce Recipes

FRESH FETTUCCINE WITH BUTTER, PEAS AND SAGE SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Over medium heat, melt 1/4 cup of the butter in a small saucepan. Add the sage leaves and cook until they are crisp. When the butter begins to brown, add the peas and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add 1/4 cup water, cover the saucepan and reduce the heat to low. Cook for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the fettuccine until al dente, 2 to 3 minutes, drain well and toss with the remaining butter, 3/4 cup of the grated Parmesan and the pea-and-sage mixture. Transfer to an ovenproof dish and place in the oven for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan.

BUTTER, FRESH SAGE, AND WALNUT SAUCE

Steps:

• Melt the butter over medium-high heat in the skillet, and scatter the sage leaves around the pan.
• When the butter begins to sizzle, drop the chopped walnuts in a hot spot. Toast them, stirring them in the butter for a minute or so, until they start to turn light brown.
• Ladle in 1 cup of pasta-cooking water. Cook at an active simmer for about 3 minutes, to develop flavor and thicken the sauce.
• Finish sauce with cooked pasta, tossing and cooking together over low heat (for details, see page 105). Off the heat, toss pasta with the freshly grated cheese just before serving.
• My favorite-fresh Buckwheat Pasta with Walnuts (page 173), cut in lacce (shoestrings). Also, whole-wheat, flaxseed, cornmeal, and barley pasta. Yes, and dry spaghetti is good when no fresh pasta is around.

PASTA WITH BUTTER, SAGE AND PARMESAN

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil; salt it. Cook pasta until it is tender, but not quite done.
• Meanwhile, place butter in a skillet or saucepan large enough to hold the cooked pasta; turn heat to medium, and add sage. Cook until butter turns nut-brown and sage shrivels, then turn heat to a minimum.
• When the pasta is just about done, scoop out a cup of the cooking water. Drain the pasta. Immediately add it to the butter-sage mixture, and raise heat to medium. Add 3/4 cup of the water, and stir; the mixture will be loose and a little soupy. Cook for about 30 seconds, or until some of the water is absorbed and the pasta is perfectly done.
• Stir in cheese; the sauce will become creamy. Thin it with a little more water if necessary. Season liberally with pepper and salt to taste, and serve immediately, passing more cheese at the table if you like.