A 5-Minute Sage Butter Sauce for Filled Pasta

Filled pasta doesn't need an elaborate sauce. It needs one that gets out of the way and lets the filling do the talking. This one takes about five minutes and uses ingredients you likely already have.

Ingredients

• 100g unsalted butter

• 10 to 12 fresh sage leaves

• Salt, to taste

• Freshly grated parmesan, for serving

Method

Melt the butter in a light-colored pan over medium heat. Use a light-colored pan so you can actually see it browning, not just smell it. Once melted, add the sage leaves whole. Let the butter continue cooking, swirling the pan occasionally, until it turns a deep golden brown and smells distinctly nutty. This usually takes three to four minutes. Watch closely near the end; it goes from perfect to burnt quickly.

Remove from heat as soon as it browns. The residual heat will continue cooking it slightly, so pull it a shade earlier than you think you need to. Season with a pinch of salt.

Toss your cooked, drained filled pasta directly in the pan, coating each piece in the browned butter and crisped sage. Serve immediately with a generous grating of parmesan.

Pairing suggestions

This sauce was made for pumpkin or squash fillings, but it works just as well with ricotta, beetroot-feta, or any filling where you want the sauce to support rather than compete.

Try it with our pumpkin filling or whipped ricotta filling.