Recently, I read a recipe that informed me fresh sage should only be used toward the end of a recipe. The author warned adding it to early would lead to too strong a sage flavor.
The author might as well have smacked me in the shoulder with a glove. Want to challenge me to a duel over the use of sage in cooking? Bring it. Because I maintain it’s nearly impossible to get too much sage flavor in a given dish.
This year I planted a lot of sage. How much, you ask? Well, a full packet of seeds, many of which came up without a hitch. It’s booming out of its pot, and taking care of a strong corner of my garden plot. I couldn’t be more thrilled, since it is, most certainly, my favorite herb.
I put the thriving sage to use for the first time this season in a recipe sure to horrify that particular cookbook author. I slow-cooked an eye of round roast, all day, with sage in the pot the entire time. Rather than a nightmarish, overly-sagey dish, what resulted was a succulent, fork-tender roast infused with sage. It’s subtle, yet delicious, and the sun-dried tomatoes, while mellowed by their long day in the slow cooker, offer just a hint of bite.
Slow-cooked Roast Beef with Fresh Sage and Dried Tomatoes
(Serves 6-8)
1 3-pound eye of round roast of beef
1/3 c. dry-packed sun-dried tomatoes, julienned
2 cloves garlic
1 large sweet onion, julienned
1/3 c. fresh sage leaves, chopped
Boiling water
Salt and pepper to taste
- Place the sun-dried tomatoes and garlic in a heat-proof bowl. Boil water and pour it over the mixture to cover. Let it stand for 10 to 15 minutes, until the tomatoes have softened and the garlic has infused the liquid.
- Place the roast in a 3 1/2-quart slow cooker.
- Top the roast with the onion, then the tomato mixture. Add the sage and salt and pepper.
- Cook on the Low setting for 8 to 10 hours. Remove from the cooker, let stand for 10 minutes, then slice. Serve topped with the tomato-onion mixture and some of the cooking juices.
This recipe is part of Weekend Herb Blogging, hosted this week by Paulchen, who hails from Vienna, Austria, which happens to be one of my favorite cities in the world. Stop by to read the round-up this weekend, won’t you?
on Jun 23rd, 2007 at 10:29 am
I wouldn’t say that sage is my favorite herb, but I have two large sage bushes in my garden and get quite a lot of use out of them. It’s wonderful to dry the sage leaves at the end of the season (though I harvest fresh right up until Thanksgiving) and use them throughout the winter. This recipe looks lovely!
on Jun 23rd, 2007 at 10:31 am
One cannot have too much sage or too much sage flavor.
One of my favorite ways is a BIG handful of fresh sage tossed in some garlic butter and poured over a small amount of pasta – Parmesan optional!
My British friends warn me that it’s dangerous to eat so much….but then, they also told me that oranges are really green and spray-painted orange for the markets…
on Jun 23rd, 2007 at 10:59 am
I agree with you and Katie, the more sage the better! This sound wonderful. I thought I was the only person who used a slow cooker in the summer! It’s a great way to cook without heating up the kitchen.
on Jun 24th, 2007 at 12:01 am
Lydia, I definitely need to dry some leaves this year, especially since I’m growing so much. I was able to harvest sage last last year, too — it was wonderful!
Katie, if it’s dangerous, I have yet to experience any bad side effects. More sage! More sage!
Kalyn, nope, I’m definitely a huge fan of slow cookers all year round.
on Jun 24th, 2007 at 3:51 am
well, I’m British and I never heard anyone say that about sage OR oranges!! Weird. I love sage and will try this recipe. Thanks :)
on Jun 24th, 2007 at 8:31 am
Down in your part of the country, the sage should return every year. Next spring don’t pull up that sage brush. About May you’ll start seeing new leaves pop out on the dead looking branches. Even up here in the northern reaches, my sage will come back every year (if our winter isn’t *too* bad).
on Jun 24th, 2007 at 9:28 am
CG, I’ve never heard that about oranges, either…go figure… I hope the recipe turns out well for you!
Sally, that’s good to know. I have some of my sage in pots — do you think I should do the same thing I did with the lavender? Sink the pot in another pot and see what happens?
on Jun 24th, 2007 at 10:25 am
I love that recipe! And sage is one of my favourite herbs.
thanks for joining WHB!
on Jun 24th, 2007 at 1:58 pm
Wow, this really makes me want to get a slow cooker! Sage is one of my favorite herbs, and I’ve got some growing. Do you think the recipe could be adapted to some other kind of cookware?
on Jun 24th, 2007 at 3:41 pm
[...] Genie from The Inadvertent Gardener made a Slow-cooked roast beef with fresh sage and dried tomatoes [...]
on Jun 24th, 2007 at 4:18 pm
I love sage too! I’ve never tried using it with slow cooked beef, though. Thanks for the great idea!
on Jun 25th, 2007 at 10:57 am
Slow cooking is so great, I should use it more! I’ll try this recipe
on Jun 25th, 2007 at 8:55 pm
Oh, if that doesn’t sound simply delicious! Down here in Savannah the slow cooker is the way to go in the summer, as even the THOUGHT of turning on the oven is too much. In Savannah sage simply goes from strength to strength, and is green all year, although it slows down/goes dormant in the winter. Talk about serendipity — I was searching for sage recipes yesterday and here this is! YUMMY!
on Jun 25th, 2007 at 9:03 pm
Ms. Tart, I rushed to comment before I read your question. You probably could do this in a very slow oven, in a heavy, covered Dutch oven type pot, sort of like a pot roast or a stew. For this you might want to sear the outside of the roast first, partly to add some color and depth to the sauce, and also to do a tiny bit of “pre-cooking.” You might also consider adding more water/stock, but that would depend on your knowledge of your pots and oven. I certainly think this recipe could be done without a slow cooker. Good luck!
on Jun 26th, 2007 at 6:45 pm
Astrid, thanks for hosting this week — I loved your round-up!
Ms. Tart, I’m sure it could be adapted. I like mgpaquin’s suggestions on how to adapt — that sounds about right to me.
Nicole, I don’t remember using sage and beef before, either, but I thought it might be tasty…and I was right!
Ulrike, in the summer, it’s a great way to get a hot meal without a hot kitchen.
Mgpaquin, yeah, especially in Savannah I’d have to resort to alternatives to the oven in summer. Glad you found the recipe and stopped by to join the conversation!
on Aug 1st, 2007 at 5:05 pm
This sounds lovely, I’m off to cook an adaption of it for tonight’s dinner.
Sage does have one negative health issue that I am aware of – my father suffers epilepsy and was warned that sage can trigger a seizure.
on Aug 1st, 2007 at 10:04 pm
Custardtart, I had no idea about that side effect — how strange! Good to know, though — I’d hate to inadvertently cause someone to have a seizure…yikes!
on Nov 17th, 2008 at 9:27 am
[...] of the Inadvertent Gardener makes a regal slow-cooked roast beef with sage and dried tomatoes. This is such a juicy and mouthwatering idea for a Christmas meal. Full of robust flavor, which [...]
on Nov 18th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
Genie, thanks for this delicious dish! We are proud to have it included in this week’s FoodieView Recipe Roundup!
on Nov 19th, 2008 at 2:03 pm
Michele, thanks for posting it — that round-up is pretty amazing — I enjoyed reading through it!