Sage Advice on Thanksgiving Recipes with Sage

The last of the peppers has long been picked, the basil has withered away. Yet, in my modest garden, one hardy plant still stands tall, ready for its star turn on the Thanksgiving table. It is sage.

Traditionally used in turkey stuffing recipes, fresh sage imparts full-bodied fragrance and flavor when tucked under the skin of any bird, or even placed atop pork or veal. It also pairs well with the season’s squashes and mushrooms, says Bruce Lefebvre, executive chef at The Frog and the Peach in New Brunswick. Home cooks shouldn’t be put off by the fuzzy texture of the

grayish-green leaves, which disappears in cooking. “I wouldn’t recommend dried sage for anything. It has a bitter flavor; it’s very perishable,” says Lefebvre.

At his restaurant, he adds fresh sage, along with cracked pepper, to prosciutto used to wrap tuna before searing. He also recommends mixing a tablespoon of minced sage along with fresh parsley into each pound of ricotta in pasta casserole dishes. Frying whole sage leaves in browned butter seasoned with chili flakes makes a simple but savory pasta dressing. Sprinkling chopped sage on one of the pastry leaves in apple strudel lends “an earthy note that brings the dish to a different level,” he adds.

Used for centuries as a medicinal herb — and, indeed, a few leaves steeped in boiling water may relieve a scratchy throat — sage belongs to the Salvia genus, whose name stems from salvus, which is Latin for “healthy.” The herb came to be associated with improved memory and wisdom, and was believed to dispel negativity.

Looking to banish the doldrums on a day when rusty leaves swirled in a bone-chilling wind, I snipped some sage from my garden and tossed a handful of the aromatic leaves into a pot of simmering split-pea soup. The soothing, satisfying result is one I expect to recreate often, long after the holiday bird has flown from the table.