Agitated saint we recollected (2,1,4)
I believe the answer is:
in a stew
'agitated' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'saint we recollected' is the wordplay.
'recollected' indicates anagramming the letters (letters recollected and rearranged).
'saint'+'we'='saintwe'
'saintwe' with letters rearranged gives 'IN A STEW'.
(Other definitions for in a stew that I've seen before include "In a state of great agitation - simmering in pot?" , "Very worried" .)