Wine-Braised Carrots with Fried Sage Leaves

Part of Lynne's Americana Thanksgiving

8 minutes prep time; 20 minutes stove time.
Serves 10 to 12 as part of a large menu

Serve the carrots hot or warm. They hold for 4 days in the refrigerator, so make enough for leftovers.

Being married to a tomato-obsessed Italophile, my carrot-loving husband moans, "Carrots must not be an Italian vegetable." In the interest of marital relations, I dug deep into my childhood memories of those interminable family dinners. Out of them came fried sage leaves and carrots cooked in wine, certainly not a dish I appreciated then.

• 4 tablespoons good tasting extra-virgin olive
• 25 large fresh sage leaves
• Salt and fresh-ground black pepper
• 2-½ pounds carrots, peeled and cut on the diagonal into ¼-inch-thick pieces
• 1 medium onion, minced
• 1 cup dry white wine
• Water

1. Heat the oil in a 12-inch straight sided sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add all but 6 sage leaves to the pan with some salt and pepper. Sauté them until they crisp, turning the leaves with tongs, a total of 30 seconds to 1 minute. Pick them out of the pan with tongs and drain them on paper towels.

2. Keep the heat at medium high as you add the carrots and onion to the pan with the 6 remaining sage leaves (tearing them as they go in). Sauté for 3 minutes, or until the onions are picking up color. Pour in the wine and enough water to barely cover the carrots. Bring to a lively bubble and cover the pan.

3. Cook the carrots 10 minutes, or until they are nearly tender. Uncover and boil off all the liquid so the carrots are coated in a light glaze. Taste them for seasoning, and turn them into a serving dish. Scatter the carrots with the fried sage leaves.

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