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| This picture which appears in FLAVORS OF AL-ANDALUS shows the production of saffron in La Mancha. (Photos courtesy of DOP Azafrán de la Mancha.) |
The saffron harvest has begun! From the end of October through the first of November is the season of the saffron harvest in La Mancha (central Spain).
Saffron is a star ingredient in my new cookbook, FLAVORS OF AL-ANDALUS, The Culinary Legacy of Spain. Its use was widespread during the Moorish era of medieval Spain. Also, consider this, before Columbus’s voyages of discovery, there was no pimentón (paprika), the warm and colorful spice made of ground peppers. Saffron was the whole shebang.
For the Andalusíes, the color of prepared food was as important as its flavor. The golden hue of saffron, a spice known since Biblical times, was especially esteemed. The Arabs introduced it to the Iberian Peninsula as early as the 9th century. The word for saffron in Spanish, azafrán, comes from the Arabic za‘farān which in turn derives from the old Persian word denoting a golden thread.
Saffron consists of the dried stigmas of a small, mauve-colored, autumn-blooming crocus. It takes the tiny stigmas of 75,000 crocus sativus to make a half-kilo of the spice. Saffron, used medicinally and as a dye as well as in cooking, became the flavor of status in medieval cuisine. It has been grown in Spain’s central La Mancha region ever since.
A field of saffron looks like nothing—clumps of muddy clay soil, stones, a few weeds—until you look closer and see the tiny flowers popping up from bare earth. Picking begins from the time the first few saffron flowers begin poking up through the dirt and continues daily.
The saffron flowers must be hand-picked early in the morning, before the petals open. Once warmed by the sun, the flowers open and become limp, making it harder to remove the stigmas.
Crates filled with saffron crocuses are delivered to the mondaderas, the women who extract the three threads of the stigma from each crocus. The stigmas must be removed the same day that the flowers are picked or the flowers become pulpy and the precious stigmas are lost.
Once the saffron filaments are separated from the flowers they must be lightly toasted to reduce their humidity and to preserve their color and olfactory properties. The saffron is spread in sieves to dry over electric heating elements or, in the old way, over a brazier.
Traditionally, saffron production was a small, family enterprise, with each family planting no more than what its members could pick and process in a day—early morning in the fields, afternoon at the mondeo, the night tending the braziers for the drying operation.
Saffron thrives in only a few scattered areas in the provinces of Toledo, Cuenca, Albacete, and Ciudad Real. Saffron grown in this region that meets quality specifications can be certified with the Denomination of Origin Saffron of La Mancha (DOP Azafrán de la Mancha). DO certification promotes product quality and helps to sustain the deeply rooted customs and foodways of small growers in La Mancha. Nevertheless, in recent years the market has been flooded by Iranian saffron, which can be produced considerably cheaper than the Spanish.
Because it is so valued, saffron has long been an ingredient in special foods, those served on fiesta days, for weddings and baptisms. In humble homes cooks once used artificial yellow coloring for la comida amarilla, the “yellow meal,” producing bright yellow paellas without a wisp of true saffron. Nowdays they use real saffron plus pimentón.
When cooking with saffron, crush the threads in a mortar (or, use the butt-end of a knife to crush it in a teacup) and add hot water or other liquid. Let the saffron infuse for at least 10 minutes before incorporating it into a sauce or rice. It’s also acceptable practice to sprinkle threads of saffron right into hot oil and let them toast briefly.
Saffron as an ingredient appears in many of the recipes in Flavors of al-Andalus. Here are just a few: Cauliflower with Almond Sauce; Artichokes Córdoba Style; Vegetable Paella; Fideo Noodles with Octopus; Country-Style Rice Cazuela, and Chicken in Almond Sauce are just a few.
Here are links to a few of the recipes with saffron that have previously appeared in these blog posts:
You will find a half-dozen paella recipes--all with saffron--in the blogs. (Use the Search window in the upper left corner of the blog. If that's not visible on a mobile phone, go to the end of the blog and switch to "view web version." You'll see the search window at the top.)
This recipe is not paella, but arroz caldoso, soupy rice with chicken, vegetables, saffron, and finished with an almond picata.
Hake in Saffron Sauce. This delicate fish is perfect to show off the subtle flavors of saffron.
This is a very old-fashioned potato dish called “ajopollo.” Ajopollo literally means “garlic-chicken.” But there is absolutely no chicken in the preparation! Garlic, yes. The name possibly derives from el tiempo de hambre, the times of hunger, when an ama de casa had to feed a family on subsistence foods.
Ajopollo is a sauce made with crushed almonds and bread, garlic, olive oil and “saffron.” Saffron, in poorer homes, did not mean the valued spice, but yellow coloring. Here it is "gilded" with real saffron and, putting the chicken back in, a rich chicken broth.
Ajopollo is a sauce made with crushed almonds and bread, garlic, olive oil and “saffron.” Saffron, in poorer homes, did not mean the valued spice, but yellow coloring. Here it is "gilded" with real saffron and, putting the chicken back in, a rich chicken broth.
Orange-Saffron-Sherry Olive Oil Cake. A gorgeous cake that can go plain or fancy, for breakfast with fruit or tarted up with frosting for a celebration. I suppose you could serve it with a saffron latte--
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Upcoming event--I will chat with Dara Bunjon of "The Food Enthusiast" about the Flavors of al-Andalus. Find the link to the live program (1 pm EDT; 6 pm Spain) on the JMore Facebook page on the date or in the archived shows at the web site The Food Enthusiast.
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FLAVORS OF AL-ANDALUS
The Culinary Legacy of Spain
Ask for Flavors of al-Andalus from your favorite bookseller or click below to order.
This cookbook explores the fascinating story of the deep and lasting influences that Islamic culture has left on modern Spanish cooking.
Author and Spanish cooking expert Janet Mendel tells the story of the Moorish influence on Spanish cooking through 120 recipes and photographs for modern-day dishes, from salads and vegetables to fish, poultry and meat to sweets and pastries, that trace their heritage to foods served in medieval times. Dishes from this era include exotic spices such as saffron, the use of fruits and almonds with savory dishes, and honeyed sweets and pastries. The flavors of al-Andalus live on in modern Spanish cooking and are what makes Spain’s cuisine distinctive from the rest of Europe. (Hippocrene Books)
Use PROMO CODE HIPPOCRENE40 for 40% off on all Hippocrene titles at IndiePubs online bookstore.
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