I went a little nuts with my last order from Penzey’s and I got two little bitty containers of saffron. I’ve never cooked with it before, and it’s a little pricey so I don’t want to waste it. What’s the best way to use it (besides with rice)? I don’t eat red meat but I eat chicken and seafood. Any suggestions?
Thanks for asking this, I brought some home from Kashmir because, well, I was right there. But, like you, I’m actually uncertain how to cook with it. I’ve been carefully keeping it in an airtight container, waiting, waiting…
Saffron + seafood = Bouillabaisse.
Kinda wish I hadn’t read that recipe now, it’s far too late here to be drooling.
I’m just mad about that stuff.
Saffron makes a huge difference in Portuguese Chicken!
Here’s a recipe I got off the internet years ago; I’ve lost the original link. This recipe specifies boneless, skinless chicken breasts, but it’s even better if you use a couple of chicken breasts and a couple of thighs and drumsticks.
Chicken Portuguese Style:
- 2 Tbsp. Olive oil
- 3 cups cored, seeded sweet red, green and yellow peppers, cut into thin strips
- 1 cup thinly sliced onions
-1 Tbsp. finely diced garlic - 1 cup canned crushed tomatoes
- 1/4 tsp. saffron stems or 1/2 tsp. turmeric
- 2 Tbsp. butter
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 Tbsp. finely chopped shallots
- 1/4 cup dry white wine
- 1/4 cup chicken broth
- 1 Tbsp. finely chopped parsley
Heat the oil over medium high heat in a skillet. Add the peppers, onions, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, about 3 minutes or until crisp-tender. Add the tomatoes and saffron. Cover and simmer 10 minutes. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a skillet large enough to hold all the chicken in one layer. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Turn the pieces, reduce the heat and cook about 5 minutes or until done. Do not overcook. Transfer the chicken to a warm platter and keep it warm. Add the shallot to the skillet and stir and cook until wilted. Do not brown. Pour in the wine and scrape the bottom with the wooden spatula to dissolve and brown particles that may cling to the bottom of the skillet. Reduce the wine almost completely and add to the chicken broth. Let this cook until it is almost completely reduced. Add the chicken breasts and any liquid that may have accumulated. Add the pepper and tomato mixture, bring to a simmer and add the parsley. Serve with rice.
And it’s just mad about you.
Paella. There are many recipes for this dish, but saffron is a key ingredient.
It works very well to flavour the stock you use to make risotto
I need more info, details people, details!
Say I want to make saffron rice, sounds yummy, huh?
How much saffron would I use? When would I add it? Would I need other ingredients?
You only need a pinch. Check out sites like epicurious.com for recipes. It’s normally added to the liquid that you cook the rice in. Rub it between your fingers to crumble it when you add it.
Other uses for saffron: Desserts (use it together with a vanilla bean to flavour poached pears or other fruit, in rice pudding, as a flevouring for Greek yogurt, panna cotta, ice cream, or fruit salad*), sauces (saffron mayonnaise, for example, goes well with seafood, or a hot cream-based sauce with pasta), Indian-style biryanis, mild chicken or fish curries, cold and hot drinks (such as chai latte, ice tea, hot milk and lemonade). And weirdly enough, potatoes (just google saffron potatoes and see if the recipes are to your liking). The number one use for saffron in Scandinavia is in sweet wheat buns with raisins for St Lucy’s Day and Christmas.
*One of my favourite fruit salad recipes uses yellow fruit (banana, peach, mango, pineapple, yellow kiwi fruit etc) macerated in a simple syrup flavoured with saffron and the tiniest pinch of chili pepper.
Yes, I love the taste and smell of saffron. I used to have a recipe for saffron, garlic and potato soup as well, I’ll see if I can find it…
Thanks y’all, I’m definitely going to try these.
The yellow fruit one, sounds the bomb!
Perhaps I am missing something here but there’s no saffron in that recipe
You mean other than the 1/4 tsp? 
Or chermoula, our current favorite - a fabulous aromatic Moroccan fish recipe. Try it with snapper, monkfish…go crazy!
Um. Brain no worky today. I honestly scanned that as “1/4 tsp turmeric” and had to go back and reread it twice after your post.
So, yes, I suppose I did miss something.
Turmeric substituted for saffron. See, I just learn so much from y’all.
OK, I’m making lemon pepper shrimp for dinner tonight, and I decided that I"m going to make saffron potatoes to go with it. I’m going to heat up some chicken stock, add the saffron, and then toss the taters with it, along with some garlic, kosher salt, and black pepper and roast them for 45 minutes at 400.
NO!! Turmeric is not/not a substitute for saffron.