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With October First usually comes the debut of fall menus in seasonal restaurants around the country. In your own seasonal kitchen you might be slowly swapping summer’s berries for fall’s apples and pears. Summer’s vibrant greens are now being traded for autumn’s luscious pumpkins and butternut squash. Dishes that were treated over the last few months with a light handed drizzle of olive oil and sprinkle of fresh herbs are now ready for the richer taste of a sauce.
When it comes to making a sauce, nothing says fall to me quite like brown butter. Fancy French style reductions of wine or cream are delicious come the really cold weather, but for this in-between season, a good butter sauce is just the right touch of decadence to compliment the bounty of fall produce. Many chefs out there must agree, for I can almost synch my internal calendar to fall’s arrival based on the appearance of butternut squash ravioli with brown butter and sage on a restaurant menu.
At its most basic, a brown butter sauce is hardly more complicated than drizzling olive oil on a finished dish. Brown butter is simply what it says it is: butter that has been browned. The “browning” of the butter happens when the butter melts and continues to cook to a point where the milk solids toast.
An amount of butter is placed in a pan over a medium flame and allowed to melt. A gentle swirling of the pan during the melting can help with an even browning of the milk solids. It takes a careful eye to watch the butter melt, for in a matter of seconds those solids can go from toasted to burnt. If done correctly, brown butter can add a nuttiness and richness to many dishes for just the right touch of fall flavor.
As already mentioned, a classic combination for a brown butter sauce is with butternut squash or pumpkin ravioli. If you can buy them already made, dress up the pre-made ravioli with your own brown butter sauce adding a couple of tablespoons of minced sage to the sauce at the end of the browning process.
You can also make your own ravioli with seasoned squash puree either using homemade pasta or with wonton wrappers subbing for pasta sheets. Just put a dollop of puree in one wrapper and brush the edges with water. Place another wrapper on top and seal to get the air out then boil for a few minutes until cooked through.
Brown butter goes with more pasta than just butternut squash ravioli. Try sauteing some of fall’s lovely mushrooms with herbs, toss with brown butter and linguine and serve with a grating of parmesan cheese. Another pasta idea would be to play with other fall favorites like nuts and dried fruit. Try toasting chopped walnuts or pine nuts then mixing with cooked spaghetti, brown butter, and dried cranberries for a starter or vegetarian main dish that is chocked full of fall tastes.
Brown butter sauce does more than just pasta; it can be a lovely compliment for fish of many sorts. Fish varieties that lack richness of their own often do well with a touch of brown butter. In particular I always think of the classic dish trout grenobloise that I must have made dozens of times in cooking school. The light tasting trout is filleted and pan sautéed until the skin is crisp and cooking through. A brown butter sauce is made using a couple of tablespoons of butter per serving.
The cooking of the butter ends with the addition of lemon juice, salt and pepper. Capers, lemon segments, and chopped parsley are stirred into the sauce which is then poured over the fish and served with a smattering of croutons. The brown butter gives a richness and depth of flavor to a fish that is otherwise extremely mild while the acidity from the capers and lemon segments keep the butter from overwhelming the dish with richness. A similar tactic can be used with many fish dishes: creating a brown butter sauce and then balancing it out with acidity ranging from citrus juice to balsamic vinegar.
A good brown butter sauce can take a fall menu from average to fantastic in just a few minutes. It may take a little practice, but does not require a lot of time. Once the basic technique is mastered, brown butter sauce may be the corner stone of the fall menu in your own home.
©2026 CDKitchen, Inc. No reproduction or distribution of any portion of this article is allowed without express permission from CDKitchen, Inc.
To share this article with others, you may link to this page:
https://www.cdkitchen.com/cooking-experts/amy-powell/965-brown-butter/
Brown Butter is the Color (and Taste) of Fall
With October First usually comes the debut of fall menus in seasonal restaurants around the country. In your own seasonal kitchen you might be slowly swapping summer’s berries for fall’s apples and pears. Summer’s vibrant greens are now being traded for autumn’s luscious pumpkins and butternut squash. Dishes that were treated over the last few months with a light handed drizzle of olive oil and sprinkle of fresh herbs are now ready for the richer taste of a sauce.
When it comes to making a sauce, nothing says fall to me quite like brown butter. Fancy French style reductions of wine or cream are delicious come the really cold weather, but for this in-between season, a good butter sauce is just the right touch of decadence to compliment the bounty of fall produce. Many chefs out there must agree, for I can almost synch my internal calendar to fall’s arrival based on the appearance of butternut squash ravioli with brown butter and sage on a restaurant menu.
At its most basic, a brown butter sauce is hardly more complicated than drizzling olive oil on a finished dish. Brown butter is simply what it says it is: butter that has been browned. The “browning” of the butter happens when the butter melts and continues to cook to a point where the milk solids toast.
An amount of butter is placed in a pan over a medium flame and allowed to melt. A gentle swirling of the pan during the melting can help with an even browning of the milk solids. It takes a careful eye to watch the butter melt, for in a matter of seconds those solids can go from toasted to burnt. If done correctly, brown butter can add a nuttiness and richness to many dishes for just the right touch of fall flavor.
As already mentioned, a classic combination for a brown butter sauce is with butternut squash or pumpkin ravioli. If you can buy them already made, dress up the pre-made ravioli with your own brown butter sauce adding a couple of tablespoons of minced sage to the sauce at the end of the browning process.
You can also make your own ravioli with seasoned squash puree either using homemade pasta or with wonton wrappers subbing for pasta sheets. Just put a dollop of puree in one wrapper and brush the edges with water. Place another wrapper on top and seal to get the air out then boil for a few minutes until cooked through.
Brown butter goes with more pasta than just butternut squash ravioli. Try sauteing some of fall’s lovely mushrooms with herbs, toss with brown butter and linguine and serve with a grating of parmesan cheese. Another pasta idea would be to play with other fall favorites like nuts and dried fruit. Try toasting chopped walnuts or pine nuts then mixing with cooked spaghetti, brown butter, and dried cranberries for a starter or vegetarian main dish that is chocked full of fall tastes.
Brown butter sauce does more than just pasta; it can be a lovely compliment for fish of many sorts. Fish varieties that lack richness of their own often do well with a touch of brown butter. In particular I always think of the classic dish trout grenobloise that I must have made dozens of times in cooking school. The light tasting trout is filleted and pan sautéed until the skin is crisp and cooking through. A brown butter sauce is made using a couple of tablespoons of butter per serving.
The cooking of the butter ends with the addition of lemon juice, salt and pepper. Capers, lemon segments, and chopped parsley are stirred into the sauce which is then poured over the fish and served with a smattering of croutons. The brown butter gives a richness and depth of flavor to a fish that is otherwise extremely mild while the acidity from the capers and lemon segments keep the butter from overwhelming the dish with richness. A similar tactic can be used with many fish dishes: creating a brown butter sauce and then balancing it out with acidity ranging from citrus juice to balsamic vinegar.
A good brown butter sauce can take a fall menu from average to fantastic in just a few minutes. It may take a little practice, but does not require a lot of time. Once the basic technique is mastered, brown butter sauce may be the corner stone of the fall menu in your own home.
Linguine with Mushrooms, Sage, and Brown Butter
Made with butter, mushrooms, shallots, sage, salt and pepper, Parmesan cheese, linguine
Made with butter, mushrooms, shallots, sage, salt and pepper, Parmesan cheese, linguine
Serves/Makes: 2
- 7 tablespoons butter, divided use
- 4 ounces mixed mushrooms such as crimini, shiitake, oyster, chanterelle
- 2 shallots
- 2 tablespoons minced sage leaves
- salt and pepper
- 1/2 pound linguine
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Melt 2 Tablespoons of the butter in a saute pan over medium low heat. Slice mushrooms into 1/4-inch thick slices. Raise heat in saute pan to medium and add mushrooms. Saute for a few minutes until browned on one side.
Meanwhile peel shallots and thinly slice. Toss shallots and sage with mushrooms and a bit of salt and pepper. Continue to saute for about another four minutes until shallots are softened and mushrooms are browned. Remove mushroom mixture from pan into a small bowl and set aside.
Cook pasta in the boiling water according to package directions. When pasta is about 4 minutes away from being done, return large saute pan to the stove first using a paper towel to wipe out any brown bits still in the pan. Add remaining butter to the saute pan over medium heat. Gently swirl pan every 20-30 seconds to help with even browning the milk solids.
When the solids have browned, return the mushrooms to the pan along with the cooked linguine. Toss the pasta the mushrooms and season to taste with additional salt and pepper if necessary. Serve immediately with grated Parmesan cheese.
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©2026 CDKitchen, Inc. No reproduction or distribution of any portion of this article is allowed without express permission from CDKitchen, Inc.
To share this article with others, you may link to this page:
https://www.cdkitchen.com/cooking-experts/amy-powell/965-brown-butter/