Dead-Nettle Brown Butter

A simple sauce to temper a polarizing herb

Dead-nettle leaves can have a polarizing pungency and flavor, but this recipe tempers their funk by frying the leaves in brown butter. This simple sauce riffs on the classic brown butter and sage (an herb from the same plant family). Start with a handful of fresh dead-nettle leaves, but adjust how many you add to your sauce based on how mild or bold they taste. Baste this on roasted parsnips, spoon it over a flaky fish, or toss it with gnocchi for a quick weeknight dinner.

“Oh!” - me, relieved this recipe actually worked

Ingredients

1 handful loosely packed dead-nettle leaves* (see notes)
OR small handful sage leaves