Penne with Prosciutto, Walnuts & Fried Sage Leaves

What's not to love about the name of the recipe? I have a sage bush that has been very good to me. Around Thanksgiving time, I harvest a lot of the beautiful leaves for stuffing, and I also dry them for cooking. My larger leaves are pretty picked clean, but I still managed to pick some fresh leaves-- noticing all the new growth that's getting ready to happen.

I've never had fried sage leaves, but Stacey's photos convinced me to try them. I'm a changed woman! The crunch of the sage leaves, and the wonderful aromatics in the melted butter made a simple but fantastic sauce! This dish is so easy to make-- another 30 minute fast food recipe that I would make again. My only teeny tiny tweak was to add some red pepper flakes, at the end. Perfect!

I might caution anyone that using unsalted butter is a smart move. Prosciutto can be salty, so go way easy on adding anymore salt. The walnuts, garlic and fried sage are absolutely perfect! The next time I make this recipe-- and I will definitely make it-- I think I'll go for pancetta, instead of prosciutto. I have a feeling that this would be delicious, too.

Adapted from the food blog "Stacey Snacks":

Penne with Prosciutto, Walnuts & Fried Sage Leaves
8 oz. of prosciutto, diced (or, try pancetta)
5 garlic cloves, finely minced
1/4 cup good olive oil
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped roughly
salt & pepper
1/2 cup Pecorino Romano cheese

1 lb. penne pasta

1/2 stick of unsalted butter
25 sage leaves

Cook your pasta as per directions on the box.

In a heavy skillet heat your olive oil and cook your garlic, prosciutto and walnuts on medium heat until the prosciutto starts to brown (watch that your garlic doesn't burn). Once this is done, take your pan off the heat/burner.

Add your cooked, drained penne pasta to the skillet and mix with the prosciutto mixture. Add 1/2 cup of parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese and toss together.
Sprinkle with a bit of salt and cracked black pepper.

In a separate frying pan, cook 1/2 stick of butter and the 25 sage leaves on medium heat for about 2 minutes till the sage leaves are crisping up.
Pour this delicious sage butter on top of the pasta and serve.