Saffron

[Monica]

My sis gave me a little bag of really good saffron so I want to make something really special. I like everything so please share your good recipes with saffron in it.

[Rick]

I just made this paella and loved it. Only caution is to watch how much chicken stock she calls for. I used exactly half the amount, I just followed the liquid guidelines on the back of my rice bag.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/in...

[monavano]

risotto with lobster, or shrimp, or scallops.
Mussels with white wine, garlic and saffron.

[buttertart]

Marcella Hazan's (from Marcella's Italian Kitchen) ground veal with saffron and cream with linguine is wonderful. 3/4 lb ground veal, a few Tb of minced onion cooked until golden in 2 tb butter and 1 tb oil, add the veal and brown it well (it clumps a bit, so put it back in the FP when half-cooked and proceed). A big pinch of saffron and 3/4 cup heavy cream, cook the cream down a bit, serve it over linguine or other long pasta with grated Parmigiano and a sharp watercress salad. A luxurious dish easily and quickly made - it's so rich this amount serves 4.

[chefj]

Billi bi, a mussel and saffron soup from Brittany is a great way of showing off saffron in simple and delicious way. Look for simple recipes with few ingredients, mussels, white wine, saffron, stock and cream.

[coll]

Someone posted this recently and I made it, it's pretty darn good especially since it has an almost meatlike texture. The saffron and anchovy are essential for a unique flavor, and breadcrumbs too.
http://wardstreetbistro.typepad.com/w...

[HillJ]

creme brulee
vanilla pudding
any rice dish
salad dressing
roasted veggies
soup
goes really well with baked fish

[Will Owen]

Here's a favorite of mine:

Salt Cod Stew - Bacalao Vizcayena

1 lb. boneless, skinless salt cod
5-6 smallish waxy potatoes
5-6 Roma tomatoes
1 red onion
2 fresh poblano peppers
2-3 cloves garlic
1 cup white wine, + water as needed
big pinch of saffron
Tbs. (approx.) smoked Spanish paprika
1 can pitted black olives
olive oil, salt pepper

Refresh cod 12-24 hrs., changing water several times. Put it into a pan with the wine, plus enough water to cover, and bring it just to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer gently for 20 minutes, then take off heat, cover, and let sit while you proceed.

Peel potatoes and cut into bite-sized chunks. Core tomatoes, cut into quarters lengthwise, then across the middle. Halve onion and slice fairly thin. Core and seed peppers, cut lengthwise along rib lines, trim out ribs, then chop fairly coarsely. Peel and mince garlic, add to tomatoes, add a good pinch of salt and some oil and toss. Add oil, salt and about half the paprika to the potatoes and toss that.

Drain the cod, reserving a cup of the liquid. Pat the cod dry on paper towels, then cut into pieces about 1"x 2". Put in a bowl; toss with some oil and the rest of the paprika. Crush the saffron in a mortar and add to the reserved liquid.

Preheat oven to 350º. Heat a large sauté pan, and when it's good and hot add the potatoes, sautéeing them until they begin to brown around the edges. Scrape into a lidded casserole large enough to hold everything. Put some more oil into the pan, add onion and stir briefly, then reduce heat and cover. Cook until it's almost transparent, about five minutes, then scrape out into the pot. Raise heat, add oil if needed, and cook the peppers until they're soft. Add to pot. Put tomatoes into pan, cook and stir over high heat until they collapse into liquid and start to thicken. Scrape out the pan into the pot fairly thoroughly, then add the fish over high heat. Toss and fry until it starts to brown and scrape into pot. Deglaze the pan with the reserved liquid/saffron mixture, pour into the pot. Drain the olives and add these, stir everything to distribute fairly evenly, add salt if it's needed, then cover the casserole and put it into the middle of the oven. Bake one hour and then check potatoes for doneness, giving them another 15 minutes if necessary.

Serve in shallow bowls over toasted buttered croutons of good bread. Find a good light Spanish wine, one of the inexpensive ones from the Catalan coast - I think red's better than white for this - and have a nice salad on the side, maybe with some egg in it.

NOTE: You can also make this just as well with fresh cod, or even other kinds of seafood. For fresh cod just skip the refreshing part and proceed from there.

[Cherylptw]

Bouillabaisse....Here's a great recipe; seems like a lot of work but well worth it.

Croutons

* 12 to 16 (1/2-inch-thick) baguette slices
* 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
* 1 garlic clove, halved

Soup

* 1 (1- to 1 1/4 -lb) live lobster
* 2 large tomatoes, peeled and coarsely chopped
* 1 large onion, chopped
* 4 garlic cloves, chopped
* 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
* 1 lb boiling potatoes
* 1/3 cup finely chopped fennel fronds (sometimes called anise)
* 1 Turkish or 1/2 California bay leaf
* 1/4 teaspoon crumbled saffron threads
* 1 1/2 tablespoons coarse sea salt
* 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
* 9 cups white fish stock (or store-bought)
* 3 pounds white fish fillets (such as monkfish, turbot, red snapper, striped bass, porgy, grouper, and/or cod), cut into 2-inch pieces
* 1/2 pound cockles or small hard-shelled clams, scrubbed
* 1/2 pound cultivated mussels, scrubbed and any beards removed
* 1/2 pound large shrimp in shells
* Rouille
* 3 tablespoons water
* 3/4 cup coarse fresh bread crumbs (preferably from a baguette, crust removed)
* 3 garlic cloves
* 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
* 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
* 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Make croutons:
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 250°F.

Arrange bread slices in 1 layer in a shallow baking pan and brush both sides with oil. Bake until crisp, about 30 minutes. Rub 1 side of each toast with a cut side of garlic.

Make soup:
Plunge lobster headfirst into a 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling water, then cook, covered, 2 minutes from time lobster enters water. Transfer lobster with tongs to a colander and let stand until cool enough to handle. Discard hot water in pot. Put lobster in a shallow baking pan. Twist off claws with knuckles from body, then crack claws with a mallet or rolling pin and separate claws from knuckles. Halve body and tail lengthwise through shell with kitchen shears, then cut crosswise through shell into 2-inch pieces. Reserve lobster juices that accumulate in baking pan.

Cook tomatoes, onion, and garlic in oil in cleaned 6- to 8-quart pot over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Meanwhile, peel potatoes and cut into 1/2-inch cubes. Stir potatoes into tomatoes with fennel fronds, bay leaf, saffron, sea salt, and pepper. Add stock and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, until potatoes are almost tender, 8 to 10 minutes.

Add thicker pieces of fish and cockles to soup and simmer, covered, 2 minutes. Stir in mussels, shrimp, lobster, including juices, and remaining fish and simmer, covered, until they are just cooked through and mussels open wide, about 5 minutes.

Stir 3 tablespoons broth from soup into rouille until blended.

Arrange 2 croutons in each of 6 to 8 deep soup bowls. Carefully transfer fish and shellfish from soup to croutons with a slotted spoon, then ladle some broth with vegetables over seafood.

Top each serving with 1 teaspoon rouille and serve remainder on the side.
For the Rouille-pour water over bread crumbs in a bowl. Mash garlic to a paste with sea salt and cayenne using a mortar and pestle. Add moistened bread crumbs and mash into garlic paste.

Add oil in a slow stream, mashing and stirring vigorously with pestle until combined well.