Pasta with burnt butter, sage and apaki. A recipe that will impress you with its simplicity, as only the burnt butter and the sage are enough to win your heart. As for the apaki? Well, that’s the icing on the cake.
WHAT IS BURNT BUTTER?
One of the most important elements in cooking is heat. The heat is what turns a raw colorless dough into a golden brown flaky crust, makes a cake rise or transforms a simple butter into a caramelized nut flavored sauce. That is burnt butter. And the process for making it is simple although there are some things in which you have to pay attention.
WHAT’S THE PROCESS?
For making burnt butter, the butter should melt in a pan slowly, over medium heat. As the butter melts, it begins to change its flavor and turns into a dark, almost black that tastes like nuts. This is because the solid part of the milk after rising to the surface afterwards – that is, when the butter starts to foam – end up at the bottom where they caramelize.
WHERE ELSE CAN I ADD BURNT BUTTER?
The amazing taste of burnt butter can be used in many recipes. Burnt butter tastes like nuts, so feel free to add it in classic pastry recipes but even recipes that contain meat, such as chicken. Do not hesitate to make your favorite pancakes with it or why not an omelette.
TIPS FOR MAKING BURNT BUTTER
- Before adding the butter to the pan, cut it into equal pieces so that it melts evenly.
- As burnt butter may easily totally burn during cooking, I suggest to use a pot with a white bottom. The white bottom will allow you to check the color changes of the butter and therefore to act in time.
- It is also highly recommended to slowly melt the butter. First add the butter to a cold pan and then transfer the pan over your stove. In this way the butter will melt evenly and slowly.
- Once the butter starts to melt, you will need to stir it constantly. Stirring it constantly will prevent the butter from burning.
- Once the butter is ready, transfer it immediately to a cold pan to avoid further cooking.
The perfect pasta for the recipe
Thank God there are so many types of pasta, with different shapes. This is because each sauce is unique and needs the right shape of pasta to perfectly hold it. For this recipe, the wide surface of the matsata pasta offers this perfect hold that this sauce needs, thus it does not lose even the slightest of its deliciousness.
Matsata pasta are made from single variety wheat and belong to the “Golden Series” of Misko. They have a really great taste and a high percentage of protein, which makes them the ideal choice for classic and demanding recipes.
Pasta with burnt butter, sage and apaki
Ingredients
- 6 tbsp butter
- ¼ cup fresh sage leaves
- 200 gr apaki, chopped into cubes
For serving
Instructions
- In a large pot add about 5 liters of water and bring to a boil. Once the water has boiled, add 2 tbsp salt and after 1 minute the pasta. Boil until the pasta becomes al dente.
- In a large pan, over medium heat, sauté the apaki until it turns golden brown. Lower the heat to minimum so that it just keeps warm until we add the pasta.
- In a pan with a white bottom, add the butter cut into equal cubes.
- Melt the butter slowly and stirring constantly. After a while it will start to foam and the solids parts of will rise to the surface and then will end up at the bottom of the pot where they will caramelize.
- Just before the process is complete, add the fresh sage leaves, stir for 10 seconds and remove from the heat. Add the burnt butter into a bowl so that it doesn't further burn.
- Once the pasta is ready, add it to the pan with the apaki. Add the burnt butter with the sage and mix well. If necessary, add 1-2 tbsp from the pasta water.
- Serve with freshly ground pepper, parmesan and pine nuts.
So this was one of my favorite pasta recipes. Matsata pasta with burnt butter, sage and apaki, a recipe that will impress you with its simplicity. You just have to be a little bit careful while cooking the burnt butter.
I would be thrilled to hear from you. Even more, if you make my recipe and post a photo of it. Just don’t forget to share your photo under the hashtag #tetisflakes. Please do not hesitate to comment below or contact me on Instagram, or Facebook or Twitter!
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