Saffron--The world's most expensive spice

Herb? Spice? Usually a spice because it grows in more tropical climes...ususally..not always...anyway.  Whatever it is, Saffron is the most expensive ingrediant of its type in the world! 

I'm back!  Sorry for the delay in writing, GSW had a few things that needed to be finished first.

About two weeks ago, I had a hankering for some Paella.  Now, usually Paella is made with seafood of every kind and that's great, but I really don't like it with seafood.  Scallops would be ok and some chunks of fresh tuna or salmon might work for me.  If I could get fresh octopus or squid and have them prepped and cut up into little chunks (gods, don't make me do that!!) those would be fine but clams and muscles and other stuff, no, not my thing.  So, since I am landbound, and fresh seafood isn't really forthcoming anyway, we went for a chicken and sausage and a little bit of pork paella.

Paella is a spanish dish, probably the most famous of the cuisine from Spain and well worth the effort, which really isn't that much.  It is a good, hearty, country-folk dish making use of everything in the lauder in a base of saffron infused rice.  (See, I got back to Saffron!)  There are as many recipes for Paella as there are Spainards cooking it, but what really makes it paella is sauteing the onions, garlic and rice in olive oil until it starts to brown, then add broth and a pinch of saffron.  That makes the rice not only a lovely yellow color (careful, Saffron will stain you too if you let it! Saffron is also used in pigments and has been for over 50,000 years! but it is usually cheaper to use tumeric if you need something nice and yellowy) but it adds a unique flavor to the rice that can only be called that "Saffron" flavor!!  It is smokey, sort of and well, tastes like Spain to me. 

So what is Saffron and why is it so bloody expensive?  One ounce of the stuff can cost about $160!  YIKES!
It costs so much because it is labor intensive to gather.  The saffron threads are the stigmas of the saffron  crocus, (Crocus sativus)  These little plants look just like the crocus in your garden, but they aren't.  These are autumn crocus and they produce only three little stigma in each little flower.  It takes about 75,000 flowers to make a pound of saffron.   .

Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms--flowers
(unranked): Monocots--the babies only have one leaf
Order: Asparagales---denotes the time era that these plants probably got going teh Cretaceous period 145-   65 million years ago
Family: Iridaceae---from the Iris genus.  Perennial, herbaceous and bulbous plants
Subfamily: Crocoideae--sword shaped leaves from a corm, usually six tepals, which are parts of the petals
Genus: Crocus--one of about 80 species 30 are cultivars make up this genus
Species: C. sativus ---not to be confused with meadow saffron...which is TOXIC and has six stimgas or the prairie crocus which is a buttercup.  Saffron Crocus--Crocus sativus--is only ONE type of crocus that blooms in autumn, don't just run out and pick apart your autumn blooming crocus and pop them in a dish.

Fortunately, a little saffron will go a long, long way.  To yellow up and spice up a huge pan of paella, only three or four little saffron stigmas are needed. 

Again, a gazillion recipes exist.  I'm not even sure I really followed one when I made my paella.  I just sort of went for it, but here is a decent one that could give you an idea.  This is a mixed paella  and what most people expect, but you can eliminate anything you want.  You can have vegetarian paella if you'd like. That would be really good actually. (I guess veggie broth would be as good as chicken.)

Mixed Paella 


This is the recipe that springs to mind to most people think of paella. While Valencia, the homeland of paella, rarely produces a paella mixing seafood with meat, this paella has caught the popular imagination outside Spain and tends to be the paella served in most Spanish-themed restaurants.

It's easy to understand why few could resist the combination of delicate lobster meat, mussels, clams, and shrimp teamed with rich chorizo sausage and tender chicken.

•Serves: 6-8
•Difficulty: Intermediate
•Preparation time: 60-90 minutes

Ingredients
•1/2 pint of olive oil  (OR LESS...yikes, that is a lot)
•10 mussels
•10 clams
•2 oz boneless pork, diced
•2 teaspoons minced garlic
•6 oz onions, chopped fine (or more if you'd like)
•1 medium tomato, skinned, seeded and chopped
•1 small red bell pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips
•1 small green bell pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips
•1 small yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips
•32 oz skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into chunks (or as much as you'd like)
•Salt and pepper to taste
•1 teaspoon paprika--helps with the unique taste and adds color too
•1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
•1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
•1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
•24 oz lobster claws
•24 oz rice
•3 cups (48 fl. oz) chicken broth
•1/4 teaspoon saffron---yep that is it!  about, ooo, six stigmas?
•2 chorizo sausages, cooked and cut into chunks
•10 uncooked shrimp, peeled and deveined
•4 oz peas
•4 tablespoon capers
•Lemon wedges, to garnish

Preparation


Scrub and debeard the mussels and clams, discarding any that don't close when tapped sharply. Set aside.

Heat 1/4 cup (2fl. oz) of the olive oil in a skillet. Add the pork, and brown all sides. Mix in the garlic, onions, tomato, and bell peppers, stirring constantly until cooked. Set aside.

In another skillet, heat a further 1/4 cup (2 fl. oz) olive oil and cook the chicken until browned on all sides. Season with salt, pepper, paprika, rosemary, thyme, and cumin. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.

In the same skillet, cook the lobster claws overt high heat for several minutes until its shell turns pink. Set the skillet aside.

Preheat the oven to 200 ºF. Heat 4 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet, and sauté the rice until it's translucent. Pour in the chicken broth, and combine well. Add the pork mixture, stirring constantly. Sprinkle in the saffron and continue to stir until well mixed.

Transfer the rice into a paella pan. Mix in the lobster claws, chicken, chorizo sausages, mussels, clams, shrimp, peas and capers, combining well. Bake the paella, uncovered, and on the lowest oven shelf, for around 25 minutes, or until all the liquid has been absorbed.

Discard any mussels and clams that have failed to open.

Serve the paella straight from the pan, garnished with lemon wedges.

YUMMY!  (well, I'd skip a few things, but that is the beauty of paella, if you don't like part of the dish, don't scoop it up!

Serve with a glass of Sangria and you will be in the heart of Valencia!