Butter and Fresh Sage Sauce

Preparation

1. Step 1

   Melt the butter in the pan over medium heat, lay in the sage leaves, and heat until the butter is sizzling gently. Toast the leaves for 1 minute or so.

   Step 2

   Ladle in 1 cup boiling pasta water; stir the sauce, and simmer for about 2 minutes, reducing liquid by half, before adding pasta. Grind the black pepper directly into the sauce.

   Step 3

   Keep the sauce hot over very low heat; return to a simmer just before adding pasta.

   Step 4

   Finish cooked pasta and sauce in the skillet. Off the heat, toss in the cheese just before serving.

2. Butter and Fresh Basil Sauce

   Step 5

   Substitute about twenty shredded leaves of basil (1/2 cup packed) for the sage leaves. Long thin dry pastas like capellini or long flat-cut fresh pastas are good with this.

3. Good With . . .

   Step 6

   Fresh pastas

   Step 7

   Gnocchi

   Step 8

   Gnudi

   Step 9

   Ravioli

   Step 10

   Or a box of ziti, if that’s all you have