Splendid Saffron
A pinch is all you need to enliven dishes.
You thought beluga caviar and 25-year-old scotch were expensive. Well, they have nothing on the delicate spice saffron. It’s said to fetch up to $10,000 per pound — and that’s on the wholesale market.
Meet Saffron: Look into a saffron crocus flower, past the purple petals, to the red stigma. That’s saffron. In cooking, the threads dye dishes a sunny yellow and impart a subtle floral flavor that’s slightly bitter and sweet. You use just a pinch of saffron in dishes because it can taste medicinal or bitter if you use too much. Or put another way, “… the minute you taste the saffron in a dish, there is too much,” celebrated chef and restaurateur Michel Richard is quoted as saying.
Saffron is popularly used in Moroccan, Persian, Indian and Mediterranean cuisines. It’s on Louisa Shafia’s list of essential Persian ingredients that she includes in her book “The New Persian Kitchen.” “Light, fluffy, perfectly cooked rice is a part of almost every Persian meal, and rice is almost always seasoned with saffron,” she writes.
Back to that high price tag
Each crocus flower has just three saffron threads, and they are hand-harvested during the few hours a day the flowers are fully open. So it takes a lot of time, precision and flowers to make one pound. One source we found put the number at 50,000 flowers.
Using Saffron: From Paula Wolfert’s “The Food of Morocco,” for the best flavor, saffron should be brittle before being pulverized. To do this put it in a warm pan on a very low heat. When brittle, they’re ready to be pulverized with a mortar and pestle.
Wolfert further recommends turning saffron into saffron water, saying it’s economical and brings out more of the aroma and flavor than adding the threads to a dish. To make it, dry ½ teaspoon crumbled strands in a warm skillet. Crush, then soak in 1 cup of hot water. Store up to a week in the fridge. (You can also freeze it into ice cubes.)
Similar to Wolfert, Shafia says: “Grind up the saffron in a mortar and pestle and let it steep in hot water, milk, butter or stock before using.”
Beware: Because of its high cost, saffron is subject to counterfeits. To make sure you’re getting real saffron, buy whole saffron with thin, wavy threads. Yellow dots at one end are a clue that the threads weren’t dyed. Ground saffron may be mixed with fillers.
Deep Dive: Saffron was first cultivated in Western Asia, particularly Persia, dating back to the 3rd century. In the 13th century, cultivation spread to Italy, France and Germany, according to “The Oxford Companion to Food.”
Tomato-Saffron Soup with Lavender Croutons
Enjoy the flavors of Provence in this soup that incorporates two bits of wisdom we picked up from Paula Wolfert and Michel Richard. (See above for their wise words.)
In this soup, lavender and saffron are both more of a whisp than a full-on flavor. There’s just enough so they can do their jobs boosting the soup’s complexity.
We’ve made this soup with whole tomatoes, too. If you do, use a stick blender or standard blender to purée the soup.
Serves 4
Croutons
2 cups cubed rustic bread, ½-inch cubes
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 ½ teaspoons Lavender Seasoning (recipe below)
Soup
2 tablespoons hot water
¼ teaspoon saffron threads
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons diced shallots
3/4 teaspoon herbes de Provence
2 teaspoons Lavender Seasoning
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 (14-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
1 1/4 cups chicken stock, canned or homemade
For the croutons:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and set aside.
Add the bread cubes to a bowl and drizzle with olive oil. With your hands or two large spoons, toss the cubes until well coated. Sprinkle the seasoning over the cubes and toss to coat. Place on the baking sheet and spread out the cubes so they have some room around them.
Bake 11-13 minutes, or until the cubes are golden and crisp. Let the croutons cool while making the soup.
For the soup:
Put hot water in a small bowl. Heat a small skillet over low heat and add the crumbled saffron threads. Crush saffron and add it to the water. Cover and steep for 20 minutes.
Heat a pot over medium-high heat and add olive oil. When the oil is shimmering, add the shallots and stir. Sauté 2-3 minutes, or until the shallots are translucent.
Add the saffron water, herbes de Provence, lavender seasoning and pepper, and stir. Add tomatoes and chicken stock and stir. Bring to a simmer. Lower heat to medium-low to low and simmer 20 minutes.
Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning, if needed. If it’s too tangy, add a bit of sugar. For a more pronounced lavender flavor, add more lavender seasoning. To thin it, add more chicken stock.
To serve: ladle soup into single-serving bowls. Put croutons in a second bowl. Add a few of the cubes to the top of the soup. The croutons are best when they are fresh on the soup, so serve it with the crouton bowl so diners can add more, as desired.
Lavender Seasoning
1 1/4 teaspoons dried lavender flowers
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
Put all ingredients in a spice blender and grind to almost a powder. You can also use a mortar and pestle. Put in a small bowl and set aside.
What’s adding ☀️sunshine☀️ to our plates:
It’s spring! We’re loving the later sunsets and knowing that we’ll be planting tomatoes soon.
Happy Passover, Easter and Nowruz to those who celebrate.
Check out this cookbooklet on saffron by Christina Xenos and Emily Sandor.
Zariz: 100 Easy, Breezy, Tel Aviv-y Recipes by one of our favorite authors, Adeena Sussman. The book comes out in April.
Vegan Saffron Buns from Olga the Baker on Substack.
We are so thankful for your support!
Beth and Sarene (more about us in the welcome post)
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Lavender croutons, that put Spring into my step!
Oooh…..a trip to the saffron harvest in Enna, perchance??