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Sage is an extraordinary superfood herb loaded with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Basic sage pesto made of fresh sage, organic virgin olive oil and a bit of Himalayan pink salt is an excellent way of preserving sage. Package them in individual small portions, and then store in the freezer to use in the next 6-8 months.
Sage is a perennial herb
Sage is a common herb in various cuisines around the world. It has a very strong earthy flavor, perhaps the reason why it is usually used in small quantities.
We added sage to our backyard herb garden this year, and it grows pretty well. I heard they are perennial in Chicago area just like parsley, leek and cilantro, and look forward to welcoming them back next spring.
Sage is a powerful superfood herb
This silvery green herb is undoubtedly a superfood herb offering incredible health benefits. Sage is rich in vitamins such as Vitamin K, Vitamin B6 and minerals such as calcium, manganese, and iron.
In addition, Sage contains many essential antioxidants that can help lower risk of cancer and improve cognitive functions. People also believe that sage can help lower both total cholesterol, “bad” LDL cholesterol, but increase “good” HDL cholesterol.
What an impressive nutritious herb!
What is Sage Pesto?
For those who haven’t heard of pesto, it is an Italian originated, refreshingly tasty bright green sauce made of fresh green herbs, virgin olive oil, spices, and more.
In fact, “Pesto” means “to crush” in the local language. This implies that in the old-time and way before food processor, people simply used mortar and pestle to make this popular green sauce.
You can use all kinds of green herbs to make pesto. One of my early spring favorite one is my garden fresh Leek Parsley Pesto.
Whenever I harvest tons of sage, I make this basic sage pesto to preserve the harvest so that I can enjoy this superfood herb throughout the year.
What are some of the wonderful ways of using this basic sage pesto?
Foremost, I use this to pair with Oats Porridge or Eight Treasure Porridge.
Both porridges are extremely nutritious. Oats porridge is also amazing DASH {Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension}. Use a tablespoonful of this basic sage pesto for a bowl of porridge, perfectly to spice up the otherwise bland porridge.
Second, it is perfect to use as a dressing for a garden pasta salad
This garden pasta salad is a must have, especially during the summer. I like to add a tablespoonful of homemade pesto to enhance the flavor and look of it.
Last, you can turn the basic sage pesto to a loaded sage pesto sauce by adding additional ingredients
Parsley, garlic, nuts such as walnut or pistachios, and Parmesan cheese all go well with sage pesto. A splash of freshly squeezed lemon juice adds the refreshing taste.
Pesto is great to serve as a vegetable dipping sauce, such as cauliflower with pesto.
Basic Sage Pesto {Best Way to Preserve Sage}
Ingredients
- 0.5 lb sage
- 1/4 cup olive oil, extra virgin perferred
- 1/4 tsp Himalayan pink salt
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients. Wash and rinse sage, keep only the leaves and tender stems.
- Fill the food processor half full with the sage, turn the speed to high briefly to chop the sage into coarse pieces.
- Remove the coarsely chopped sage using a mini silicone spatula, place them on a plate and set aside.
- Repeat #2 and #3 until you have processed all the sage.
- Add back all the coarsely chopped sage back to the food processor, add olive oil and salt, turn the speed to high briefly just to blend everything together. See notes.
- Scoop 4-6 tablespoonful of basic sage pesto to each snack size ziplock bag, squeeze out the air and seal.
- Add individual packages into a quarter-size freezer friendly ziplock bag, squeeze out the air, seal and label.
- Store the bag in the freezer to use for the next 8-12 months. Each time take out one individual packaged basic sage pesto and enjoy!
Notes
- Do not over process the sage in the processor, only briefly to chop into small pieces. It is important to preserve the herb's flavor and taste.
- This is especially true when you plan to turn this basic sage pesto into a loaded pesto. At that point, you will add additional ingredients and do additional processing.
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Nutrition Information
Yield 24 servings Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 43Total Fat 5gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 4gCholesterol 0mgSodium 49mgCarbohydrates 0gFiber 0gSugar 0gProtein 0g
Nutrition calculation is provided by Nutritionix to the best knowledge per ingredients description and isn't always accurate.