Gnocchi with Burnt Sage Butter

This is really a very rich and naughty dish. I think you should only eat this as a small entree' not a meal. Whilst I have made my own gnocchi in the past I do find that it is better to buy the best quality gnocchi you can find. I have found that the fruit and vegetable markets and gourmet deli's do have a terrific range of products. Remember to choose a gnocchi that is not full of fillers and those intrepid numbers.

Of course you must use fresh sage in this dish - it does not work with dried sage.

This recipe has been taken from the taste.com.au website. I haven't modified it at all.

Serves 4-6 as an entree'

Ingredients

• 100g unsalted butter, chopped
• 16-20 small sage leaves
• 1 recipe gnocchi or 800g purchased gnocchi, cooked
• 1 cup (80g) shaved or grated parmesan

Method

1. Place chopped butter into a large frying pan over medium heat. Cook until melted then add sage leaves to pan. Cook butter and sage leaves, swirling pan often, for 4-5 minutes or until sage leaves are crisp and butter has turned a deep nut-brown colour. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
2. Add gnocchi to frying pan and toss to coat in burnt sage butter. To serve, divide gnocchi among bowls, spooning over any burnt butter that is left in the frying pan. Sprinkle with parmesan and enjoy immediately.

Chicken with Sage and White Wine

I have a never ending abundance of fresh sage. This is a delight because it is really expensive to buy particularly when you need so little for cooking as a rule.

This recipe was inspired by something similar on the taste.com.au website. It is really easy to make and super yummy - I modified the recipe slightly to make it a tad more exotic.

Ingredients

• 2 small free range chicken breast fillets, trimmed
• 8 slices prosciutto
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 2 tblsp plain flour
• cracked black pepper
• 4-8 large sage leaves
• 1 tbsp olive oil
  
• 30g unsalted butter
  

Method

1. Press two sage leaves into the top of each chicken fillet and sprinkle with pepper. Wrap each chicken fillet with two slices of prosciutto, in a diagonal direction, to completely cover.
   
2. Dust each fillet in the pepper seasoned plain flour. Place in refridgerator for 10 minutes to rest.
3. Meanwhile in a fry pan heat the olive oil and butter together until just sizzling. Add remaining sage leaves and fry until crisp. Place on paper towel and set aside
   
4. Add the chicken fillets and cook on a medium heat until brown on both sides. Set aside and keep warm.
5. Add white wine to pan - turn the heat up a little and boil until reduced by half. Ensure you scrap all those yummy browned pieces up off the bottom of the pan.
6. Turn the heat down to very low and add your chicken pieces for 2 minutes - turn to cover in sauce.
7. Serve with steamed new potatos, fresh in season vegetables. Sprinkle fried sage leaves over chicken.