I began to look around for other ways to use sage. Pretty soon my one big plant wasn't big enough. With long cooking, sage's assertive raw taste mellows to an understatement. It bumps up the flavor of starchy foods like potatoes, beans, squash, and stuffings, and of mild meats like pork, chicken, and veal. Briefly cooked, sage stands up well to more aggressive flavors like anchovies or garlic.
Tuscan beans are wonderfully versatile.
In cool weather they're delicious hot, topped with a grilled sausage or a chop. A little extra cooking liquid turns them into a hearty soup. Cooked down and mashed, they're the basis for a vegetable dip. In summer, I like to drain the beans and dress them while hot with a flavorful vinaigrette, then eat them at room temperature atop a bed of escarole or on bruschetta. I harvest sage as I need it because it doesn't keep long in the refrigerator.