It is unfortunate that saffron carries a “luxury food” tag, for it is the most beguiling of culinary flavors. It is the world’s most expensive spice; it takes 20,000 crocus stigmas to yield 4 oz of saffron. Saffron often comes from Spain and other Mediterranean countries, but the best I have ever come across is Indian.
The pungency and color that result from its addition to a soup or stew, risotto, or ragoût is, to my mind, worth all the expense. You will not need much and a generous pinch is enough—two generous pinches will work wonders.
Because its flavor is unique and so individual, it marries well with a great many preparations, both sweet and savory. It can be used in cakes and biscuits, custards and creams, with vegetables and legumes, eggs and rice, and in endless sauces, dressings, and purées. But with fish, particularly fish soups and stews, is where saffron comes into its own.
I was once enjoying a particularly fine bouillabaise at a restaurant called Michel in Marseille. This was about ten years ago and I had never eaten this fabled dish before. The unfamiliar fish that were to be included were displayed at the entrance to the restaurant. I had never seen such splendid specimens. Glistening skins and scales, and stiff with rigor mortis freshness. There was rascasse, wrasse, red mullet, John Dory, monkfish, sea bass, and a gigantic length of conger eel. All these were included whole or in chunks for my mammoth lunch to come. They were stewed in what I can only describe as a distillation of all things fishy. And this particular fish broth was the burnished terra cotta line of a Provençal roof tile. There would have been many tomatoes added, some white wine, and of course saffron. The strong and fiery paste called rouille added extra pungency and the dish arrived with some boiled potatoes on the side. These had also been cooked in the soup and were yellow; saffron stains soaked up by the soft potato.
When I had finished eating the fish, I found myself—as one does—crushing the potatoes into the soup dregs. An interesting thought occurred to me. Mashed potatoes, creamed with saffron, using olive oil instead of butter and adding a little garlic (to account for the remnants of rouille left in the plate) could be a dish in its own right.
Well, all I can say is that it works brilliantly and I urge you to make it. It is one dish that I can truly call my own.
If you are going to serve these potatoes with fish, then it is nice to cook them in fish stock. If you are not, then don’t bother.
2 lb russet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
salt
a generous tsp saffron threads
1 large garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped
¾ cup plus 2 tbsp whole milk
¾ cup plus 2 tbsp virgin olive oil
Tabasco sauce, to taste
Boil the potatoes in fish stock or water with some salt. Heat together the saffron, garlic, and milk, cover, and infuse while the potatoes are boiling. Add the olive oil to the milk infusion and gently reheat. Drain and mash the potatoes—I think the best texture achieved is through a mouli-légumes. Put the potatoes in the bowl of an electric mixer, switch on, and add the saffron mixture in a steady stream. Add Tabasco to taste and adjust the seasoning. Allow the purée to sit in a warm place for about 30 minutes so that the saffron flavor is fully developed.
Apart from being essential to fish soup, this is a wonderful pungent sauce in its own right and could be used as a dip for all sorts of things—deep-fried calamari, goujons of sole, or grilled chicken, for instance. It is also delicious smeared on a baked potato.
2 hard-boiled egg yolks
2 egg yolks
½ tsp saffron threads
3 anchovy fillets
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
1 tsp tomato purée
1 tsp mustard
pepper and a little salt
1 tsp lemon juice
8 drops of Tabasco, or more to taste
1 cup plus 2 tbsp olive oil
Blend the first 10 ingredients in a blender until smooth. Add the oil in a thin stream, until the rouille is thoroughly homogenized.
This is a delicious lotion for shellfish of all sorts, white crab meat particularly, but lobster, shrimp, scallops, etc., are good, too.
1 tsp saffron threads infused in 2 tbsp boiling water
juice of ½ lemon
salt
pinch of cayenne
1 tsp smooth Dijon mustard
¾ cup heavy cream
Mix together the saffron, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and Dijon mustard. (Do not use a whisk, as all the saffron threads get tangled up in it.) Leave to infuse for 5 minutes. Stir in the cream. Use straight away, as if kept for too long it becomes too thick.
½ cup butter
2 large onions, peeled and very finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
2 tbsp Pernod
½ 750 ml-bottle dry white wine
1 bay leaf
1 thyme sprig
1 cup light chicken stock
2 ¼ lb mussels, de-bearded, thoroughly scrubbed and washed
2 waxy, all-purpose potatoes, peeled and diced
1 tsp saffron threads
salt and pepper
½ cup heavy cream
2 tarragon sprigs, leaves only, finely chopped
lemon juice, to taste
croûtons, to serve
Melt the butter and in it cook very gently the onions and garlic until pale golden. Add the Pernod, allow to froth, then pour in the white wine. Add the herbs. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 15 minutes, uncovered. Add the chicken stock and reheat.
Put the mussels in a large pot and strain the soup over them. Leave the onion in the sieve, because it’s going back into the soup. Bring the mussels to the boil until they are just open. Drain them and keep the liquor. Strain this through a very fine sieve or cheesecloth back into the original soup pan; this is to catch any grains of sand or bits of shell. Return the onion to the broth, discarding the bay leaf and thyme, and add the potatoes and saffron, salt, and pepper. Bring back to the boil and simmer until the potato is tender. Keep warm.
Shell the mussels, watching out for any reluctant beards, and discard any that aren’t open. Put them into the soup. Reheat with the cream and tarragon, and lemon juice to taste. Finally, adjust the seasoning and serve with croûtons.