Tag: saffron

Pushpesh Pant’s Prince-like Chicken Curry (Shahi Qorma)

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Serves: 4

This a curry is total luxury.

Incredible.

I skipped the edible silver leaf, though the saffron infused milk and then the rose water? No way.

I’ve adjusted the recipe to use less ghee than originally instructed. You could also dial down the water added during the simmering stage, as you will need to cook it down, uncovered, after the 30 minutes of simmering. (I’ve typed up the recipe with 500ml vs the 750ml originally asked.)

Indeed, on the ghee front, once you’re close to the end of the simmer, if you see excess ghee, I would skim it off.

Nothing is more exciting to me than finding a new, home-run curry and this is just that. Absolutely fit for a prince.

Ingredients

Pinch of saffron threads
1 tbsp warm milk
2 tbsp ghee
10 green cardamom pods, bruised
5 cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
2 bay leaves
1 onion, chopped
3 tbsp ginger paste
3 tbsp garlic paste
2 tsp ground coriander
1kg chicken thigh, cut into 3cm pieces
Salt
1 c hung plain yoghurt*
1 tsp Garam Masala
1 tsp ground mace (substitute nutmeg)
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp ground white pepper
2 drops rosewater

To garnish

20 blanched almonds, cut into slivers**
Edible silver leaf

Method

  1. Put the saffron in a small bowl, add the warm milk and soak until required.
  2. Heat the ghee in a large, heavy-based pan over a medium heat, add the cardamom pods, cloves, cinnamon, and bay leaves and stir-fry for about 1 minutes or until they start to splutter.
  3. Add the onions and stir fry for about 5 – 7 minutes, or until golden brown. Add the ginger and garlic pastes and stir-fry for a further 3 minutes. Add the coriander and chilli powder, then season, stir and add the chicken. Stir-fry for about 5 minutes then add the yoghurt and bring almost to the boil. Pour in 500ml of water, cover and simmer for 30 minutes, or until cooked. Uncover and reduce until you have a gravy, adding the spices 10 minutes before the end of the simmering. Adjust the seasoning, then add the rosewater and soaked saffron and stir. Garnish with almonds (cashews) and silver leaf.

* Otherwise known as labneh, here is another blog of mine if you’re not across this.

** I’ve twice substituted slightly crushed cashews here and it is absolutely lovely.

Thomas John’s Snapper with Saffron Broth

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 4

This is such a delicate, Spanish, summer-lunch: a recipe my mother shared with me.

Seafood, saffron, fish stock and petite vegetables. How could you go wrong?

Open a white wine. Pour the wine. Tear some crusty bread.

Time is on your side.

Enjoy.

(And pour more wine! It’s summer!)

Ingredients

100ml olive oil
1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
1 small leek (white only), thinly sliced
2 shallots, thinly sliced
12 black mussels, cleaned
2 1/2 tbsp white wine
2 cup fish stock
1 tsp saffron threads
4 snapper fillets, skin scored
1 large tomato, peeled, seeded and diced
1 potato, peeled, cubed and cooked
20 asparagus spears, blanched
1 bunch English spinach, stalks trimmed
Sea salt and pepper
Parsley sprigs

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 160c.
  2. Cook the celery, leek and shallots in half the olive oil for 1 minute, increase the heat to high, add the mussels and wine and cover for 3 minutes or until the mussels open.
  3. Strain the mixture and return the liquid to the pan and reduce by 1/3.
  4. Add the stock and saffron and simmer for 5 minutes.
  5. Sauté the fish skin side down in the remaining oil for 2 minutes, turn over and cook for 1 minute and then place in the oven for 2 minutes.
  6. Add the potato and tomato to the broth and heat through and season.
  7. Add the asparagus, spinach and mussels and simmer until the spinach is just wilted.
  8. Divide the spinach and asparagus among bowls and pour over the broth.
  9. Scatter the mussels, tomato and potato around and then top with the fish and garnish with parsley.

Chicken Bouillabaise

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 4

This is a classic, classic French dish and this version is superb.

It is from my mother and it is one I had as a child and have then cooked as an adult.

It is pretty impossible not to love and served with the aioli-buttered toasts and the boiled baby potatoes, this is a warm, rich dinner in.

I sometimes substitute chicken thigh for a jointed chicken, though this isn’t a substitute you should make in this instance. Cutting the chicken off the bone is half the romance of the dish, if that can in anyway be a romantic thing.

If you’re after a French theme, you can do a whole lot worse than a Bouillabaise.

Get jointing.

Ingredients

1 cup chopped leeks
1 cup chopped fennel
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups peeled and finely chopped tomatoes
1/3 cup white wine
1/4 cup Pernod (we used Ouzo)
6 sprigs thyme
Sea salt
Good pinch of cayenne
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 tsp saffron threads
Chicken pieces from jointed chicken (including skin)
Olive oil
Baby potatoes, boiled
Toasted baguette slices
Aioli

Method

  1. Bring the stock to a simmer, remove from the heat, add the saffron and set aside.
  2. In a large heavy saucepan, auté the chicken in a little olive oil over a medium heat until golden all over; remove and set aside.
  3. Pour off the fat, lower the heat and sauté the leeks, fennel and garlic until soft. Add the stock and saffron and deglaze the pan.
  4. Add the tomatoes, wine, Pernod and thyme, bring to a fast simmer and cook for 20 minutes.
  5. Return the chicken to the pan together with any juices and simmer for about 30 minutes or until cooked through.
  6. Lower the heat, season with salt and cayenne; add a little olive oil.
  7. Serve with the potatoes, baguette slices and aioli.

Andalusian-style Chicken

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 2

A little while ago, I typed up an Andalusian-style pork recipe and wow was it is a cracker.

So fresh, so full of flavour, so simple to prepare and healthy as well.

Simple Spanish cooking at its best.

Well here you have another cracker Andalusian dish; again, unique, full of bold, fun flavours and easy to pull together on a Monday night.

Served with broccolini sautéed with chilli and garlic and this really was such a great way to start the week.

Pour yourself a wine, prep, cook… and this will be an equally great start to your week.

(Note the serving size and double for lunch the next day or if you have friends coming around.)

Ingredients

Large pinch of saffron
1/2 chicken stock cube, crumbled into 100ml boiling water
2 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, thinly sliced
2 large chicken breasts or 6 boneless, skinless thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
Large pinch of ground cinnamon
1 red chilli, reseeded and chopped
2 tbsp sherry vinegar
1 tbsp clear honey
6 cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 tbsp raisins
Handful of coriander, roughly chopped
25gm toasted pine nuts
Crusty bread to serve

Method

  1. Add the saffron to the hot stock to soak.
  2. Heat the oil in a saucepan and cook the onion until it is soft and just beginning to turn golden. Add the chicken and cooked until the chicken is browned all over.
  3. Add the cinnamon and chilli and cook for a few minutes. Add the stock, vinegar, honey, tomato and raisins. Bring to the boil, turn down the heat and simmer for 10 minutes until the sauce is reduced and the chicken is cooked through.
  4. When ready, scatter with coriander and nuts and serve with bread on the side.

Fish tagine with saffron & almonds

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 4

Nat cooked this number last week and it was awesome.

Low calorie – 299 per serve to be seriously precise – and packing so much flavour, we had it with cauliflower rice remit with toasted cumin and coriander: some currants mixed through – as Nat pointed out – would have sealed the deal.

To think you can eat dinner like this on the couch mid-week, with a glass of vino and some catch-up TV actually makes the weekday slog OK. These are the moments to look forward to.

There is nothing not to like about this one and plenty to love. Do a kilo of fish like we did and toast the goodness into lunch at work as well.

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
Good pinch, saffron
500ml hot fish or chicken stock
2 garlic cloves, crushed
Thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and grated
Green chilli, sliced (de-seed if you don’t want it too hot)
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp tomato puree (passata)
10 cherry tomatoes, halved
2 tbsp ground almond (almond meal)
Zest of 1 orange, juice of ½
1 tbsp honey
700gm white fish, cut into chunks (make it a kilo and call it lunch)
Small bunch coriander, chopped
Handful flaked almonds, toasted
Couscous and natural yogurt to serve

Method

  1. Heat the oil in a large pan; add the onion and cook for a few minutes until soft. Meanwhile, put the saffron in the hot stock and allow to steep.
  2. Add the garlic, ginger and chilli to the pan and cook for a few minutes more. Add the spices and tomato puree, stir for a few minutes and then add the tomatoes, ground almonds, orange zest and juice, honey and saffron-scented stock. Simmer until thickened a little and the tomatoes have broken down.
  3. Add the fish to the pan; stir in softly and cover with a lid; simmer for a few minutes until just cooked. Check the seasoning.
  4. Serve scattered with the chilli along with the couscous and a blob of yogurt. Or cauliflower rice if you are a genius like Nat.

Spanish Potato Salad

.Reading time 1 minute.

Serves: 4 – 6 as a side

This is another Bobby Flay recipe and is a great and very colourful – thanks to the saffron, tomato and red onion – addition to my repertoire of potato salads.

I served it with Jamie Oliver’s spice crusted BBQ leg of lamb and it was fabulous.

Ingredients

¼ c red wine vinegar
1 tbsp honey
1 pinch saffron threads
1 c good cup quality egg mayonnaise
1 tbsp minced garlic
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1kg new potatoes
1 large tomato
½ c finely diced Spanish onion
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
¼ c coarsely chopped flatleaf parsley

Method

  1. Combine the vinegar, honey and saffron in a small pot. Bring to a boil over a high heat and immediate remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.
  2. Combine the mayonnaise and garlic with the saffron mixture in a medium mixing bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper.
  3. Cook the potatoes in a large pot of boiling, salted water until tender. Drain and slice 1cm thick. Place in a large serving bowl and immediately fold in the mayonnaise mixture, tomatoes, onion, thyme and parsley. Season again and enjoy!