Best things to do with saffron
February 26, 2020 10:12 AM   Subscribe

A lovely colleague who knows I like cooking, found out I'd never cooked with saffron and has given me a whole gram of saffron but was very vague about what they suggested using it for. I'm looking for favourite recipes (sweet or savoury) using saffron. There has been a previous question about this, but as that was nearly ten years ago I thought that asking again might bring up some new recipes.
posted by Vortisaur to Food & Drink (18 answers total) 10 users marked this as a favorite
 
Swedish Saffron Buns!
posted by gregr at 10:18 AM on February 26, 2020 [1 favorite]


Shrikhand is tasty.
posted by praemunire at 10:19 AM on February 26, 2020 [6 favorites]


Jeweled Rice is, as far as I'm concerned, one of the best things you can do with saffron. (Along the same lines, there are a lot of great biryani recipes that use saffron.)
posted by Jeanne at 10:20 AM on February 26, 2020 [5 favorites]




Mishti desserts are often improved by the addition of saffron. There are plenty of recipes to be found online!
posted by Everydayville at 10:31 AM on February 26, 2020 [1 favorite]


Use it to make Persian-style rosewater saffron ice cream!
posted by yasaman at 10:35 AM on February 26, 2020


Paella!
posted by zoetrope at 10:36 AM on February 26, 2020




If you bake, Nankhatai or Challah.
posted by jocelmeow at 11:10 AM on February 26, 2020


I recently had the opportunity to take a Persian cooking class and he has a blog and saffron is a common ingredient . One of the things we made was this rice pilaf layered with saffron carrots and candied orange peel and it was delightful, it was made to go alongside some braised chicken with sauteed onions and tumeric and a some extra saffron water added at the end to the chicken. (Looking at this recipe, we didn't add the cinnamon or rose water when we were doing it, and the tumeric was only with the chicken we did, so it sounds like there's a lot of latitude with how it's made. Still amazing.)
posted by foxfirefey at 11:19 AM on February 26, 2020 [2 favorites]


Hot Cross Buns
posted by runincircles at 11:22 AM on February 26, 2020


Shakshuka! (I add more cumin and more saffron than the recipe calls for, and sometimes cook the peppers with a little bit of molasses for extra deliciousness).
posted by Edna Million at 11:24 AM on February 26, 2020


This cauliflower and pasta dish from Deborah Madison's Vegetable Literacy is a fairly regular staple in our house. Come to think of it, maybe I need to stop for cauliflower on the way home today... yum.
posted by papayaninja at 12:33 PM on February 26, 2020 [1 favorite]


Fish stew with saffron is fantastic.
posted by bluebird at 2:12 PM on February 26, 2020


Badam Puri (Indian almond cookies) use saffron and taste really different without it.
posted by tinymegalo at 7:46 PM on February 26, 2020


Similar to St. Lucia buns, Cornish Saffron Buns are nice if you also like currants. (This is not my usual recipe but I can't find it/printout is at home but it's pretty close.)
posted by halcyonday at 2:25 AM on February 27, 2020


+N for tahdig and paella!
posted by 2soxy4mypuppet at 3:30 PM on February 27, 2020


This rice dish is a very cozy winter meal, and endlessly adaptable. I recommend adding more veggies, more turmeric, and a generous pinch of saffron.
posted by dizziest at 2:10 PM on February 28, 2020


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