"Impossible" Tagliatelle with Brown Butter and Fried Sage

If you have recently watched Netflix's latest documentary, Seaspiracy, it's most likely you're feeling some level of surprise, guilt, agony, and/or conflict (like I am). I've watched countless documentaries about how processing and consuming meat is harmful to the environment, to the animals, and to myself. I've watched enough where I've decreased my average consumption of beef and pork and ultimately try to lean more on seafood in recent years.

Flash forward to March 30, 2021, Seaspiracy is making me question everything about fishing and sustainability (and it even challenged that sustainable fishing just does not exist)! What! While I do highly recommend everyone watch, I feel there should be a blatant warning that this documentary will make you feel highly conflicted (especially if you are pescatarian or consume mostly seafood in your diet).

As a foodie (and as someone whose parents makes amazing homemade Vietnamese food that usually contain pork), I know deep down inside that I can never be a true vegetarian. I can, however, be a fake one by incorporating more vegetarian meals into my week. For my next few posts, I will dedicate them to experimenting with alternative meat options.

Below is a recipe using my all-time favorite beef alternative, Impossible Foods! I repurposed one of my old recipes and simply replaced with their ground 'meat.' Partly why I think this is so tasty is because it's literally soaked up in butter.

Here's to trying to not destroy our earth one meal at a time...?

"Impossible" Tagliatelle with Brown Butter and Fried Sage

Prep Time: 5 min

Cook Time: 25 min

Servings: 2

Ingredients:

• ~8 oz fresh or dry tagliatelle

• 1/4 to 1/2 cup reserved pasta water

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 1 package Impossible (ground)

• 3 tbsp unsalted butter

• 2 sprigs of sage

• 1/4 tsp salt and pepper (or to taste)

• Cayenne pepper (to taste)

• Parmesan cheese (grated, to garnish)

Directions:

• In a large pot, boil water and add tagliatelle. For fresh pasta, you will only need to cook for 1-3 minutes. For dry pasta, follow instructions on packaging. Drain water, but reserve about 1/2 cup for later. Set noodles aside.

• Remove leaves from sprigs of sage. In a small frying pan, add 1 tbsp olive oil over medium high heat. Once it's warm, carefully add sage leaves and flash fry for a few minutes until edges are crispy. Transfer fried sage to plate with paper towel (to soak excess oil). Set aside.

• Heat a medium to large pan over medium high heat. Add 1 tbsp olive oil, then Impossible 'meat.' Sauté and cook for about 5 minutes or until 'meat' is no longer pink. Add about 1/4 reserved pasta water. Let reduce a little, then turn heat to very low.

• Meanwhile, in a separate small sauce pan, add unsalted butter over medium high heat. Once the butter has melted, let it continue to sit until the color changes from yellow to a golden brown color. Keep a close watch and remove from heat immediately once it's golden brown (as you do not want to overly burn the butter). It should smell nutty and delicious.

• Back to the pan with Impossible 'meat,' add tagliatelle, brown butter, and fried sage. Toss all ingredients evenly together. If texture is too dry, add more reserved pasta water. Add salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste. Transfer to serving plate. Garnish with Parmesan cheese, and serve!