Butter Bean Sage Ramen
There is something almost unreasonably satisfying about dropping sage leaves into sizzling brown butter and just watching them go crispy and dark and impossibly fragrant. It smells like the countryside in someone else's memory, which sounds pretentious, but I genuinely mean it as a compliment. This is a Provencal-ish bowl of ramen: big soft butter beans, white wine, thyme, garlic, and a broth that tastes like a country kitchen on a Tuesday afternoon. Butter beans are one of those ingredients that feel underestimated, slightly old-fashioned even, but they hold up to a simmer better than almost anything. The ramen noodles are an honest surprise in here, soaking up that herby broth like they were always meant for it. You could absolutely eat this on a weeknight when you want something that feels considered without actually requiring effort. And if you happen to have a half-bottle of white wine on the counter already, all the better.
Sage leaves hit hot fat—Brown butter blooms in the pan—Beans soak up the sun
Let Me Tell You...
My grandmother never made ramen, obviously.
She made soups that simmered on the back of the stove for hours with dried herbs she kept in little glass jars, and everything in those pots had that same quality: deeply savory, quietly herbal, almost sleepy in a good way.
I thought about her kitchen the first time I made a Provencal-style ramen, which felt like a slightly ridiculous thing to do and also kind of inevitable, the way most good ideas feel when you look back.
Pull it off the heat as soon as it smells nutty and the foam settles.
Have your sage ready to go before you start.
The crispy sage is the whole thing here, and you should not be tempted to skip it or do it ahead of time.
You fry the leaves in the brown butter until they curl and go translucent at the edges, then you fish them out and set them on a paper towel, and then you stand over them and eat two while nobody is watching.
That is just part of the process.
The butter left behind goes golden and fragrant, and you build the whole broth from that pan, scraping up the fond and adding wine and garlic and the thyme and the beans.
Either works.
Two teaspoons dried or four sprigs fresh.
Do not overthink this.
Butter beans have this quality where they feel creamy even when they are not, just from the texture of their skins and the starchiness inside, and when you let them simmer in a white wine and vegetable broth for ten minutes they absorb the whole situation and become something genuinely great.
I have used canned beans here and will continue to do so without apology.
There are people who would soak dried beans overnight for this and those people have more patience than I do.
The ramen noodles go in right at the end, cooked separately so they do not make the broth cloudy or turn to paste.
You do not want that thick starchy liquid in your broth, which is trying to be delicate, not heavy.
When you ladle it out and pile the crispy sage on top, it looks like something from a small restaurant in a Provencal village that does not take reservations.
The broth is pale gold and herby and slightly sharp from the wine.
The beans are soft and satisfying.
The sage leaves shatter a little when you break them with your spoon.
It is a very quiet bowl of food, in a good way, the kind you eat slowly without looking at your phone.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces dried ramen noodles (2 bricks, seasoning packets discarded)
- 1 can (15 ounces) butter beans, drained and rinsed
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 20 fresh sage leaves
- 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 2 medium shallots, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup dry white wine (such as Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio)
- 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves (or 1 teaspoon dried thyme)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Preparation
- Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Cook ramen noodles for 2-3 minutes until just tender, then drain and rinse briefly under cool water. Set aside.
- In a wide saucepan or Dutch oven, melt 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat, swirling occasionally, until the foam subsides and the butter turns golden-brown and smells nutty, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add the sage leaves to the brown butter and fry for 45-60 seconds until crispy and darkened at the edges. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside on a paper towel. Season lightly with salt.
- To the same pan with the brown butter, add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and the olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook for 3-4 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and thyme and cook for 1 minute more, stirring frequently.
- Pour in the white wine and scrape up any fond from the bottom of the pan. Let it reduce by half, about 2 minutes.
- Add the vegetable broth and bring to a gentle simmer. Add the drained butter beans and lemon zest. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 8-10 minutes until the beans are warmed through and the broth is fragrant.
- Taste the broth and adjust seasoning. Divide the cooked noodles between 2-3 bowls and ladle the hot bean broth generously over the top.
- Finish each bowl with a handful of crispy sage leaves. Add any optional toppings and serve immediately.