If you have a sage (salvia officinalis) plant romping away you may be wondering what to do with all those leaves. (The photo above is of my Purple Sage which is only a year or so old). Sage contains vitamin A and C and can be used in many recipes. It has been used as a digestive aid for many years and so is used with fatty foods such as sausages and pork most commonly. It has a strong flavour so you need to use it sparingly so it doesn’t overwhelm the dish.
The two most common varieties are Sage - Salvia officinalis and Purple Sage - Salvia
officinalis Purpurascens both of which have been used for
centuries to flavour stuffing, meats and to make sage tea which can help to relieve sore throats.
Here are a few ideas for using sage:
1. Use in stuffings eg sage and onion.
2. Press a leaf or two onto pork chops to flavour the meat whilst it cooks or add to a pork or chicken roast for a delicious flavour.
3. Make sage tea to help relieve sore throats. Sage in general is good for the mouth due to its antiseptic properties.
4. Use as edging for flower arrangements.
5. Harvest and dry for use in the winter when the leaves are more sparse.
6. Make a sage flavoured herb butter to use on pork chops, potatoes or vegetables. Alternatively mix it with some mild cheese or cottage cheese as a dip.
7. A few leaves placed inside a chicken breast whilst it cooks will give a wonderful flavour.
8. Fry onions with some sage leaves added towards the end of the cooking time. This can be used with potatoes or even as a sandwich filling.
9. Try layering potatoes with sage leaves next time you make potato dauphinoise.
10. It can be used in pizza, focaccia, saltimbocca and with pasta.
11. Sage goes well with peas or beans and also onions as mentioned previously.
12. It is also lovely with apple in dishes such as baked apple or apple pie.
Feel free to leave a comment with your favourite ways to use sage.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
I am such a fan of sage .. I have had it in my garden for years and I have planted it on pots .. with other herbs such as dill .. and just for pretty flower pots too.
This was a great post to remind gardeners how wonderful this herb is !
Thanks !
Joy
Never ever heard about this sage.Is that a 1 sage plant pic?leaves r looking different.Anyway thnks for sharing this informative infos.
Same as Mosley, I had idea about sage. But after watch this post I’m quite excited to know more about sage.
I just wanted to let you know how good crisp fried sage leaves are with spaghetti squash, pine nuts, and parmesan cheese.
Thanks for all your comments. Yes it is a great herb, quite easy to grow even from seed.
Mosley - the photo is of two young Purple sage plants planted quite closely together - I’m trying to create a low hedge across one of my herb beds with it.
Mary - thanks for the idea - crisp fried sage leaves sound delicious, I must give that a go.
I am excited about your website. I’m just getting into herb gardening (2nd year). I planted sage last year and didn’t know what to do with it. It has come back in full force this year. I will be sure and try some of your receipes so keep them coming. Also, I plan to make a herb basket and give to my oldest daugher who is especially found of rosemary and mint. Any suggestions?
Hello Loretta
Thank you for your kind comments, glad to hear your sage is thriving.
Did you mean a herb basket planted with herbs or a basket woven out of herb stems? I haven’t tried the latter yet. Regarding the former though, rosemary likes well drained soil whereas mint is happy in fertile moist soil so they might need taking out and planting out into the garden or separate pots later on for them both to thrive. Hope that helps.
Madeleine