Pasta in Sage Butter Sauce

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YINANDYOLK

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plated sage pasta on table

It’s been a long time since I last shared a recipe, so I’m just going to get straight to it.

I came up with this recipe to copy a dish I had at Padella, an amazing Italian restaurant right outside the London Bridge tube stop. While its dishes aren’t all traditionally done, they are always delicious, and impressively affordable.

lemon sage parmesan nutmeg pasta on wood board

Padella’s pasta was delicately covered in a sauce that tasted like pure butter, but in the least greasy way. The sage flavor was also front and center, but I noticed a hint of nutmeg and something slightly citrusy that offset the richness of the sauce.

freshly grated nutmeg in bowl

I adapted this by making a traditional butter, pasta water, and parmesan sauce (the OG “Alfredo” sauce, if you will) then added sage, freshly ground nutmeg, and a hint of lemon zest.

sage and butter pasta on plate

I’ve made this many times now for different people (sometimes even with handmade pasta, which, of course, is always better). Let’s just say that all my test subjects happily ate their plates clean.

A few notes:

  • Using the starchy water from the boiling pasta in the pasta’s sauce is the trick for a full-bodied sauce that coats each strand really well.
  • Yes, it’s over 3 tablespoons of butter per serving. Don’t let this stop you, but it may be best not to tell anyone you’re cooking for who’s even a little diet-conscious.
  • When you get to the final stages of the recipe, it’s important to work quickly so the butter, parmesan, and water emulsify properly and don’t get the chance to overcook. This means you want to prep all your other ingredients beforehand. It will also make it much easier to serve four individual servings in quick succession, so you can all sit down to eat at the same time. That’s the dream, people.

sage butter pasta on table with parmesan cheese

Pasta with Sage Butter Sauce

  • 1 lb (450g) spaghetti
  • 14 tablespoons (200g) unsalted butter
  • 1 1/3 cup reserved pasta water
  • 16 sage leaves (finely chopped)
  • 1 whole nutmeg (ground)
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • Pepper to taste
  • Olive oil
  1. Boil a large pot of heavily salted water (like the ocean!) then add spaghetti and cook until al dente. Optional: drizzle in a teaspoon of olive oil to prevent stickiness.

  2. Reserve about 1 1/3 cup of the pasta water and then strain the spaghetti. Drizzle with olive oil to keep it from sticking together while you melt the butter.

  3. Prepare individual servings:

    Return the empty pot to the stove on very low heat and toss in 50g (about 3 1/2 tablespoons) of unsalted butter. When it’s almost complete melted, add about 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta water and whisk until melted. 

  4. Sprinkle in two tablespoons of parmesan cheese and continue whisking until homogenous. If there are clumps of cheese or it seems a bit too thick, you can add more pasta water by the teaspoon. If it seems too thin, add a bit more parmesan. Then quickly stir in a quarter of the chopped sage, quarter of the ground nutmeg, and a pinch of lemon zest. Add a quarter of the pasta to the sauce pot, tossing quickly with tongs to ensure even coverage. Salt and pepper to taste, then serve immediately topped with freshly grated parmesan. 

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