Fried sage leaves - Salvia fritta
Fried sage looks like a fancy entree often served in parties accompanied by tempura vegetables, but in reality it’s the simplest and easiest appetizer you can prepare. I planted a quality of sage with big leaves in my garden to prepare this appetizer but you can use any kind of sage. I like to serve it together with fried zucchini flowers and borage. You can not prepare this appetizer in advance as like all fried foods it has to be eaten warm to savor it at its best. You could use a richer batter, however I prefer it with a simple flour and water batter because the sage leaves get crisper and their flavor is still intact and complemented by the batter.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp. cold water
10-12 big sage leaves or about 30 small ones
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil for frying
sea salt
Instructions:
1. Wash the leaves and dry them on a kitchen towel.
2. Whisk the water into sifted flour and mix until the batter becomes smooth.
3. Warm up the oil in a nonstick skillet. Dip the leaves in the batter and let the extra batter drip off.
4. Fry the sage leaves on one side until crispy and light golden and then fry them on the other side.
5. Place them on a paper towel and sprinkle them with a little bit of salt. Serve warm.
Friends of ours made these for us… they were great!