Pasta with Brown Butter and Sage
Three ingredients, eight minutes, and the best proof that butter is a flavor and not just a fat.
- Preparation
- 3 min
- Cook/bake time
- 12 min
- Total
- 15 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Calories
Three ingredients, eight minutes, and the best proof that butter is a flavor and not just a fat. Brown butter is created when the milk proteins in the butter toast. It becomes nutty, caramelly, and is achievable in four minutes. With sage and Parmesan, it turns into a dish you would go to a restaurant for in Italy.
Why this works
Butter consists of about 80 percent fat, 16 percent water, and 3 percent milk protein. When heated, the water evaporates first, which causes the loud foaming, and only then can the temperature rise above 100 degrees. Then the milk protein toasts and forms the nutty flavors in seconds that you make brown butter for. The window is short. At about 150 degrees it is perfect, at 165 it is burned, and there are less than thirty seconds in between. That is why the sage goes in right then, as its moisture lowers the temperature and stops the browning. The pasta water then takes over the second task. The dissolved starch allows the butter and water to emulsify into a sauce instead of the fat running off the pasta.
Step-by-step instructions
- 1
Boil the pasta
Cook the pasta in plenty of salted water one minute less than the package instructions. They will continue to cook in the sauce later, and they need a little reserve for that. Be sure to scoop out a cup of cooking water before draining.
- 2
Brown the butter
Melt the butter in a light-colored pan over medium heat. It will foam loudly, which is the evaporating water. When the foaming subsides, it turns golden brown within seconds and smells nutty. From here on, every second counts. A light-colored pan is important because you cannot see the color in a black one.
- 3
Add the sage
Toss the sage leaves into the brown butter. They will sizzle, become crispy in thirty seconds, and their moisture simultaneously stops the browning. The sage is not just flavor here, but the emergency brake.
- 4
Emulsify and serve
Add the drained pasta with half a cup of cooking water to the pan and toss vigorously for one minute until the liquid becomes creamy and clings to the pasta. Remove from the heat, toss in the Parmesan, and season to taste with pepper and nutmeg.
Our best tips
- Use a light-colored pan. You cannot see the color of the butter in a black pan, and there are less than thirty seconds between golden brown and burned.
