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“I’ve now made this for company three times, and it’s been a runaway hit! So easy, too. Thank you.” ~Donna
fried sage and manchego cheese rolls
I found this idea of rolled and fried sage years ago in an old Italian cookbook I picked up at a thrift store. I happened to get some especially beautiful large sage leaves the other day and they jogged my memory about those rolls. the original recipe involved anchovies—my adaption is even better, if I do say so myself.
what you’ll need
- fresh sage leaves, the larger the better. It helps to have medium to large sage leaves for this, so that you can fit a decent size chunk of cheese inside.
- manchego cheese
- olive oil
- toothpicks
Sage leaves have enough body to them that they hold up when fried, and take on the most wonderful flavor and crispness. Fried sage leaves are a delicacy just by themselves, sometimes served with an aioli type dipping sauce, sometimes as a garnish on Italian dishes.
let’s make it!
- Trim any longer stems from your sage leaves. Place them upside down on your surface.
- Put a small chunk of cheese at the tip end, and roll up, around the cheese. Secure with a toothpick.
- Fry in hot olive oil (about 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep) in a skillet for about a minute to a minute and a half, just until the sage has crisped.
- Drain on paper towels, shower with coarse salt, and serve!
If your oil is deep enough you can stand the rolls upright in the oil and flash fry the whole roll at once. The rolls will fry in about a minute. If you use shallower oil it’s easiest to use tongs to flip them over. Either way it takes a minute or less to fry them. Drain briefly on a paper towel before serving. You can toss the cheese cubes in flour first if you want, that just helps to keep the cheese from melting out of the leaf too fast, but I didn’t bother.
how to serve fried sage rolls
These little rolls can stand on their own, just provide a nice chardonnay or pinot noir. I pile them on a little plate and let people at them. I find they taste good at room temperature, too.
the sage leaf gets crisp, the Manchego melts. What more is there to say?
more Mediterranean inspired appetizers
- Muhammara (roasted red pepper & walnut dip)
- Lemon Artichoke Hummus
- Baked Feta Bruschetta
- Baked Feta Cheese with Olives and Lemon
- Rainbow Crudités with Fire Feta
- Fried Olives with Spicy Yogurt
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Fried Sage and Manchego Cheese Rolls
Ingredients
- 16 large sage leaves
- 16 small cubes of manchego cheese
Instructions
- Heat about 1/4 – 1/2 inch of olive oil in a saute pan. It should be hot enough that the sage sizzles on contact with the oil.
- Lay down sage leaves, under side up. Put a small chunk of cheese at the tip, and wrap up, securing with a toothpick.
- Fry until crisp, about one to one and a half minutes. Drain on paper towels and serve.
And they look like they’re wrapped in felt!
Really!? This sounds so interesting and creative. So outside the cheese box!
Great idea! 🙂
Joyous! Nuff said x
fried sage! Count me in- when can I come over to eat! It sounds so good
These look like an amazing quick appetizer to make for parties! I can just see a big platter getting decimated. 🙂
Ummmmm…Want. Don’t know much else to say. I would not be able to stop eating these.
Who would have thought anyone could make sage leaves look so pretty? These sound amazing – what a fun little appetizer!
Now this is so creative! I love that you just rolled them up and put them on toothpicks! My kinda fun little appetizer!
What a great use for my sage leaves!!! And I’ve been dying to try this cheese! Thanks for sharing, I’ll bet this is a very flavorful appetizer!
Have a great week!