I have never cooked with saffron before. It's tricky to find. Difficult to cultivate. And expensive to boot! But, when I found a jar of seemingly authentic saffron sprigs, I pretty much knew that it was coming home with me! And then came the fun dilemma of what exactly to do with it... One of the first things to come to mind was saffron rice.
Any Google or Pinterest or cookbook foray into what to do with saffron immediately comes up with saffron rice! As much as I like rice, this wasn't necessarily as thrilling as I was first hoping for, though. After all, I make rice all of the time and exactly how much of this precious little spice do you actually need in order to make rice taste like saffron??
Although rice certainly wasn't going to be the predominant meal, I was pretty sure that whatever I did end up making, it would have rice on the side! After all, if the most predominant thing that saffron seems to be in is rice... Can I really not try and make it at some point?
I eventually decided on wine poached salmon with tomatoes and saffron. In this iteration, I paired the spice with brown rice, red onion, garlic, and a dash of turmeric for that golden color that's often associated with the dish.
Saffron is bright red and, if used in enough quantity, can turn foods a warmer hue. However, that would take much more saffron than I was willing to put into this endeavor! Plus, I have tons of fresh turmeric on hand and love the flavor. So, whenever I make a dish that will work in combination, I'm jumping at the chance!
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What to Make w/ Saffron Rice
There are several things that I made alongside this rice!
Saffron is a fun spice to work with when you can find it. I've paired it with habaneros and brown rice for a savory mix of French and Indian flavor profiles. I always use brown rice because it's far more nutritious and a more robust kick to it. It's also seasoned with red onions, garlic, fresh turmeric, a splash of olive oil, cumin, and smoked paprika. It's an absolutely delectable version of rice with a festive color to it.
I used Fresh Turmeric in Olive Oil. You can easily substitute dried turmeric. But there is something particularly refreshing about fresh turmeric! And, if you can find it, mincing it and preserving in olive oil is the key to longevity.
Cook Rice
Add all of the ingredients into a rice cooker. I like to start with the larger vegetables and then add the smaller ingredients. Top with the spices. Then, add the rice, vegetable broth, and water.This cooks the larger vegetables on the bottom, while dispersing the flavor profiles in the middle. Although with some mixing, this really doesn't matter all that much. Everything will eventually cook together!
Press the cook button on the rice cooker. It should take about 45 minutes to cook.Alternatively you can simmer on the stove. Add all of the ingredients to a pot, bring uncovered to a boil, lower heat to a simmer, and cook covered for about 15 minutes, or until the sweet squash and rice are tender. Turn off heat, add lid, and let sit another 5-10 minutes.
When the rice is fully cooked, let sit for 10 minutes, and then fluff with a wooden spoon and serve.Do not use a fork or other metal utensil. It will scratch off the nonstick surface on the rice cooker. This will leach teflon into your food and cause future dishes to stick to the bottom!
Tips, Tricks, & Notes
For tips and tricks on rice, check out my article on The Fundamentals of Cooking Rice. There are some easy pitfalls to avoid. Particularly when cooking brown rice, which has a tendency to be difficult to navigate without drying out. With any rice, though, there are some basics to navigate, including calculating water-ratios, adding additional spices and ingredients, and how to fix sup-bar rice outcomes.
For more information about saffron, including the flavor profile and addressing its scarcity, I have an entire article on The Fundamentals of Saffron.
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