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Brown Butter Sauce

This is the easiest sauce you will ever make and a very tasty one, but then what doesn’t taste good when it’s drenched in butter? This is the perfect topping for stuffed pastas like ravioli, tortellini, and agnolloti.

Cooks' Note

The sage leaves are more traditional in this sauce, but I love the basil also. If neither of these herbs works for you, feel free to substitute your favorite herb.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    makes 1/2 cup; serves 4 over a pound of pasta as a first course

Ingredients

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
6 fresh sage leaves (torn into pieces) or 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation

  1. In a large, heavy frying pan, melt the butter over medium-high heat until pale golden, about 4 minutes. Add the sage or basil leaves and cook until crisp, about 2 minutes. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, and the nutmeg. Season the sauce with more salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese, and serve.

Reprinted with permission from Everyday Italian: 125 Simple and Delicious Recipes by Martha Stewart Living Magazine. Copyright © 2005 by Giada De Laurentiis. Published by Crown Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved. Giada De Laurentiis is the star of Food Network's Everyday Italian and Behind the Bash. She attended the Cordon Bleu in Paris, and then worked in a variety of Los Angeles restaurants, including Wolfgang Puck's Spago, before starting her own catering and private-chef company, GDL Foods. The granddaughter of movie producer Dino De Laurentiis, Giada was born in Rome and grew up in Los Angeles, where she now lives.
TagsSauceItalianEuropeanSageHerbs & SpicesGluten FreeNut FreeVegetarianKetoQuickEasy5 Ingredients or FewerCookbooks
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