You are making dinner and you need a side dish that doesn’t take a ton of time. But you want a side dish that tastes like a million bucks. In other words, you want quick and easy disguised as delicious sophistication. You REALLY want this incredible mushroom agnolotti, with toasted pine nuts, in sage brown butter.
Steve and I don’t eat a lot of pasta. Not because we don’t love it. But, as I’ve said before about some other foods, because we love it too much. Since we don’t consume a lot of pasta, it is one food type I no longer make from scratch. So, for this dish I use this delicious, ready-made agnolotti. It’s a high-quality product, and because it is ready-made, it makes this recipe super fast and super easy.
What is an agnolotti? I had no idea until I started buying this pasta stuffed with mushrooms. There are so many varieties of Italian stuffed pasta that it is sometimes difficult to keep up. According to Wiki, agnolotti is a ravioli-like stuffed pasta from the Piedmont region of Italy. It is usually stuffed with a filling of roasted meat or vegetables.
Interestingly enough, I have never cooked agnolotti in boiling water. For some reason, from the very first time I bought it, I cooked it in sage brown butter. It was so well received by all three of my guys that there did not seem to be a reason to make it differently. But they call it fried ravioli. If I tell Matt it is going to be included in a meal menu, he always tells me, “mom, I LOVE your fried mushroom ravioli!”
I bet you will too, if you give it a try.
Let’s Make this Mushroom Agnolotti with Sage Brown Butter
Four little ingredients, plus salt and pepper. Simple, simple, simple!
Melt the butter over medium low heat, then add the mushroom agnolotti in a single layer, along with the sage leaves.
Increase the heat to medium.
I use the sage leaves without any stems, because sometimes the stems can be a little fibrous.
Make sure you center the pan over the burner, or you get some agnolotti that brown faster than others.
I like to flip mine repeatedly so that I can keep an eye on how they are cooking. It does not take long for them to become done. Only about 4-5 minutes.
Flipping them often also keeps the sage leaves in the bottom of the pan, which is good because you want them to crisp up.
When the agnolotti are cooked, transfer them to the serving dish, but keep the sage leaves in the pan to continue crisping.
Reduce the heat to medium low and add the pine nuts to the pan.
Stir the pine nuts repeatedly because they toast REALLY fast. You want a nice golden color with some light spots, but you don’t want them to burn. They only take about 2 minutes to toast.
When ready, turn off the burner and remove the pan.
Spoon the melted brown butter, pine nuts and crispy sage leaves over the mushroom agnolotti on the serving plate.
Top with some grated Parmesan cheese, if you want. I always want some grated Parmesan cheese.
Aren’t they beautiful? You can make a vegetarian meal out of these alone. But they also pair well with all kinds of protein. I’ve served them with grilled steak, chicken, and salmon.
Today, Steve and I had these with leftover medium-rare grilled steak, sliced thin and served cold. It made a wonderful contrast to these warm little toasted pockets of mushroom goodness.
I can’t tell you how rich and satisfying the combination of brown butter, sweet pine nuts, and crispy sage leaves are over browned pasta filled with creamy mushroom. You’ll just have to make them and try for yourself. And when you do, leave a comment below and tell me what you chose to pair yours with!
Whatever it is, I’m sure you’ll love this dish!
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 package BUITONI Refrigerated Mushroom Agnolotti (9 oz.)
- 20 - 25 fresh sage leaves
- 2 tablespoons pine nuts
- Salt
- Fresh ground pepper
- Pre-heat a large non-stick skillet to medium low.
- Melt the butter.
- Add the uncooked agnolotti in a single layer along with the sage leaves.
- Increase the heat to medium.
- Salt and pepper to taste.
- Flip the agnolotti frequently to prevent over-crisping, careful not to break the pasta pockets.
- Flipping the pasta will also help keep the sage leaves on the bottom of the pan so that they become crispy in the hot butter.
- When the agnolotti have been toasted to a golden brown (about 4-5 minutes), remove them to a serving dish using a slotted spoon, keeping the sage in the pan with the butter.
- Reduce the burner to medium-low heat and add the pine nuts.
- Stir the pine nuts frequently to ensure even toasting. Pine nuts toast very quickly, so be careful not to burn. They should turn a nice golden brown with some light spots after about 2 minutes.
- Turn off the burner, remove the pan, and spoon the butter, sage and pine nuts over the mushroom agnolotti.
- Serve.
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