Flavour Nugget #61: BROWN BUTTER + a très chic brown butter pasta with sizzled lemons and sageJOIN ME AS I BATHE IN IT
Hello Flavour Fans, and welcome to the revamped Flavour Nuggets! Looks the same, you’re thinking? Hah! Well. It’s not. In case you missed a newsletter, there’s a new, more organised structure around here (I know, get me) and plenty of exciting recipes and treats coming your way. From now onwards, monthly themes will form a starting point for a sprawling network of ideas over each 4-5 week period, encompassing different uses for each nugget (the theme) with accompanying recipes, and extra perks for paid subscribers, including giveaways, guests, full archive access and more. If you fancy a bit of that, this is your last chance to take advantage of the only special offer I’ll be running this year, which is 20% off an annual subscription. Now is the time to come on board. Right! Let’s crack on with our theme for January, which is the peerless, the unimprovable, the illustrious, BROWN BUTTER.
Whatever your approach to January cooking, I do hope it’s one of kindness towards yourself. It’s a moody month, and I prefer to unfold slowly, like sinking into the comfiest sofa as its feather-filled cushions exhale. There’s a temptation to bulldoze into a new year with a spikily-inked list of hard-set resolutions, but I’m in favour of something more nebulous; a gentle wade into stirring waters versus an icy, heart-stopping plunge. I’m taking time to appreciate cosy joys; the coddling aura of house lamps, steaming liquorice tea in my favourite wide-brimmed mug, the full body afterglow of a slightly too-hot shower. I also won’t be denying myself one of life’s greatest pleasures, which is, of course, butter. What’s better? Nothing, unless it is browned. This lustrous, honey-hued fat brings a roasty-cosiness reminiscent of hot nuts, plus a head-spinning depth of flavour. What did we do to deserve this joy? To make brown butter, you…heat some butter. That’s it! There are a few pointers to share, of course, but it’s so simple. Butter is made up of three parts: water, fat and ‘milk solids’, and it’s these solids that brown and caramelise, forming the speckled nectar we call brown/browned butter. The best way to do it is over medium heat in a light-coloured saucepan so you can see what’s going on, but your nose will also tell you because it will smell incredible. You then take it off the heat and ta-da! It’s ready. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be exploring different ways to use brown butter to enhance everyday dishes, but I wanted to start with something classic: pasta. You’ll often find brown butter and pasta served with squash, and that’s lovely, but not my personal favourite. I like to strip things back and add frizzled quarters of lemon to counteract the richness in an interesting way. The result is something with luxurious depth of flavour and complexity from two everyday ingredients, transformed. Gazing into a pot of brown butter, you’ll see the specks eddy under creamy foam, and be forced to slow down and pay attention. At this time of year, we’re all swimming and swirling like bacteria under a microscope; it’s time to give in and go with the flow. A supremely comforting plate, this seems like a fitting start for a month of tender care and gentle awakening. The butter is a balm for January’s icy fragility, and the crisp sage leaves reminiscent of those curled and crackling underfoot. I hope you find nourishment in the year ahead, in whichever form matters most. Helen x
HOW TO MAKE BROWN BUTTERA standalone guide to making brown butter before we get into this week’s recipe proper. You don’t need to do this before you make the recipe below! But it’s here just in case.
Brown Butter Paccheri (or Rigatoni) with Sizzled Lemons and Sage I used paccheri (the large tubes) for this, as that’s what I had, although you want the ridged ones so that they hold onto the sauce. Rigatoni is an otherwise safe bet and is what I’d have used sans paccheri. 350g ridged paccheri or rigatoni pasta Bring a small pan of water to a boil for the lemons, and a larger one for the pasta, adding a generous amount of salt to the latter. Quarter your lemon, trim off the pointy ends, then slice the quarters thinly, removing any pips and tough bits. Cook the lemon pieces in the small pan of boiling water for 4 minutes, then drain. Don’t skip this step as it’s essential to remove bitterness from the lemons. Drain and pat dry. Cook your pasta in the large saucepan of boiling water until it’s a bit too al dente (a couple of minutes away from being done). Melt the butter over medium heat in a wide, high-sided frying pan - preferably a light coloured one so that you can easily see the colour of the butter. Once melted, add the lemon slices and the sage leaves and cook, stirring gently (it will splutter at first) until the butter has browned, the lemons are starting to caramelise, and the sage leaves have crisped - 5-7 minutes. Once this has happened, use a slotted spoon to remove all the lemon slices and sage leaves from the pan, then return about half of them, reserving the other half for later. Transfer the pasta into the frying pan using a slotted spoon or pasta claw, along with a full ladle of the pasta cooking water, the Parmesan, lots of black pepper and some salt. Toss and stir the pasta enthusiastically until the sauce starts to thicken, then add another full ladle of pasta water and continue doing the same. You’ll likely want a bit more sauce, so go ahead and add another almost full ladle of pasta water and continue tossing and stirring until you have a luscious, thick sauce that’s clinging to the pasta. Spoon into bowls, adding the reserved lemon pieces and crispy sage leaves on top. Add more black pepper and cheese, too, if you like. Enjoy!
Until next time, Flavour Fans x
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Tuesday, January 6, 2026
Flavour Nugget #61: BROWN BUTTER + a très chic brown butter pasta with sizzled lemons and sage
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