Sage
I develop strangely obsessive relationships with herbs and go through phases where I compulsively use the one that happens to be my favourite at that moment. I believe it started with basil many years ago and I have now covered most of the widely known herbs – the only one I don’t really care for is parsley, although I’m willing to eat it in Persian or Georgian dishes. I have already mentioned one of my big loves, tarragon, in the cauliflower and pomegranate salad recipes. The other herb I’m currently enthusiastic about is sage.
Sage is not the most accessible of herbs – it is highly aromatic and intense, so it’s easy to overdo and it isn’t quite as versatile as thyme or oregano or even rosemary. I love both the taste and smell of it, it is very savory and bit peppery. Maybe it’s just me, but it reminds me a bit of anchovies. Probably it’s just me.
A good candidate for the best known dish with sage is Italian saltimbocca: incidentally, the only really good meal I had when visiting Rome years ago (it was my own fault, I should have done more research, but I maintain that they take the al dente thing too far). It’s a combination of veal escalopes, prosciutto, marsala wine and sage. It’s quick to make and has a lot of flavour.
Sage is also good with pork, I sometimes add a handful of chopped sage to my standard meat ball recipe. Voila, an instant Mediterranean meal. An even more ridiculously easy but high impact dish is fresh pasta with melted butter and sage – just stir the herb into the warm butter and you’re done. If you feel very fancy, you can add some white wine or lemon to the sauce, but it tastes amazing just with the two ingredients.
Smelling fresh sage is a treat and I have not encountered that exact smell in perfume. But there are two scents that I very much like and that include sage at least nominally: Kiehl’s Fig Leaf & Sage (I especially love the shower gel) and Jo Malone Wood Sage & Sea Salt. If I smelled them blind, I’m sure I’d never pick out the sage note, but they have a touch of general, very pleasant herby greenness. Both are very easy to wear and would work perfectly when tending your sage shrubs in the garden.
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I’ll admit, sage is my least favorite herb. It’s interesting that it reminds you a bit of anchovies. I despise fish and seaweed – anything out of the ocean. Maybe that’s the reason why I’m not fond of sage!
That being said, I have tolerated it in pasta dishes and with winter squash such as butternut. I also use a smidegeon in turkey stuffing for Thanksgiving.
Yes, sage is not as universally appealing as the more conventional Mediterranean herbs. The French don’t use it much, either. The flavour is quite specific and so intense that it tends to be an acquired taste, if at all. But there are plenty of other wonderful herbs, no need to love them all.
My tastes in food have expanded quite dramatically: as a child, I mostly ate bread and I didn’t really eat vegetables until I was well over 20. Now I eat almost everything, if competently prepared.
I love sage…especially in tea ( I picked up this idea from the Middle Eastern restaurant we frequent)….black tea brewed with sage and a some honey…it is so good!
I also love the JM cologne…it is very versatile and office friendly….
Thank you for reminding me about sage in tea: I knew this was done, but have never tried it. Will do now!
Our farmers market has reopened for the year and my wonderful discovery this weekend was sage flowers!!! I was going to purchase them as flowers for a vase for their pretty bright purple hue but the farmer informed me that they were edible! My son was eating them straight off the stem and I added them to wild green salade and sautéed collard greens. Last night (thanks to your inspiring blog on infused water) I added the entire sage flower sprig to my bottled water along with organic English cucumber slices…this morning my water was much more palatable!
I knew that sage had pretty purple flowers, but saw them for the first time – at least conciously – when I was in Barcelona recently. Our hotel had a wonderful herb garden and the entire plot of sage was in bloom. I should keep my eyes open here as well, maybe they are sold here, too.