Im looking for ideas. Has anyone had (or better yet, made) a sauce featuring saffron. I've only done paella. I have some saffron and want to use it with chicken. What would you combine it with. I'm thinking a white wine sauce with chicken stock and tarragon? And possibly tomatoes? But curious if a fruit might work too. Pomagranite? Maybe I should do this with fish and a fish stock instead
do u have powdered saffron or threads? and do u know the source country? the flavor is very delicate and i'm not sure tarragon will lend itself to harmony.. anyways, typically u want to dry-saute saffron threads in a pan for about 45sec and then crush them up off the heat.....then add about 2tsp of boiling water to dissolve and keep it to the side then u can start cooking down your base mirepoix or what have you, and add the saffron solution once that's ready to go......add your chicken/fish to the pan and proceed cooking...
Threads. Spain. Quality. I have like a half a gram left from my last paella Never heard of the dry sauté. I do that with some spices, but sounds hard in tiny quantities. So you wouldn't mix a fresh spice with it? The Reef has a seafood soup with saffron. Seems like it has another savory with it
the country indicates the flavor strength.....spanish is in the middle u can try it out w/ the tarragon.....probably much better with fish than chicken in this case.....i would add both the saffron and tarragon towards the end of the cooking period
Cool thx. So is Persian/Iran stronger. I suppose some are better for entres and others are better for desserts/candies
yes exactly.....kashmir is stronger as well one technique u can consider is to steep the saffron and tarragon together in some cream, and then add it to your dish towards the end
pippendagimp,,,,thx so much for the advice/suggestions. In return, here is the VERY successful photo proof of your knowledge of saffron. Left side is the steeping saffron and tarragon in cream and homemade chicken stock. Right side is chicken, encrusted with pine nuts <img src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/988229_10200729723579018_87818643_n.jpg" width=800> closeup of sauce <img src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/264849_10200729730059180_1070692339_n.jpg" width=800> the chicken has been flipped <img src="https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/999880_10200729734859300_752367959_n.jpg" width=800> White wine deglazing <img src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/430077_10200729740339437_850575332_n.jpg" width=800> bad photo, but this is pippendagimps' masterful suggestion....add steeping saffron sauce at the last second during deglazing. <img src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc1/998385_10200729746019579_848944239_n.jpg" width=800> and we are plated.... <img src="https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/970721_10200729750699696_2111428373_n.jpg" width=800>
^^^ it looks very good, and i actually learned something here as well....those pine nuts were a great idea b/c mated together with saffron it creates a nice flavor profile....it's almost like a saffron pesto :grin:
yesh! The saffron/pesto worked fabulously. But none of this was possible without you telling to treat the delicate sauce with little heat, until the last second. And the chicken is stuffed with Proscuitto as well. :grin:
Very cool. I wish saffron wasn't so damn expensive. I love Paella(when it's a good one... most aren't) maybe as much as any food there is. That chicken looks good. I was doubtful of using tarragon and safron together, but I'm convinced now that it can work and would be awesome.
