Do you have Saffron in your pantry? Maybe a little transparent box with a few (laughs) red strands inside? Keep it well, it is a treasure and has been so throughout history. Traditional cuisine has reserved it for special occasions, party dishes, celebrations. It couldn’t be any other way due to its high price and the golden color it gives to food.
In Eastern Mediterranean, jeweled saffron rice (decorated with pistachios, almonds, raisins, pomegranate, orange peel and apricots, among others) is a must at a wedding. Today we show you how to prepare a simpler version to accompany a mushroom stew and see the saffron technique. Then, you can increase the level of sophistication until you create your own ideal jeweled rice.
Saffron is a powerful colorant and we aim at a loose, two-color rice where golden grains are combined with white grains to accentuate the dish colourful look. The technique is very simple and you can read it in detail in the recipe at the end of the text. In the photographs you can see the three key steps:
2. Cook the basmati rice in a pot with a lid. We cook it with the same amount (in volume) of broth as rice and with the lid on. After ten minutes of cooking we turn off the heat and pour the saffron infusion over a quarter of the surface (see photo). We cover the pot and let it rest for another ten minutes. In this way, we obtain a part of golden rice grains and another part white, obtaining a loose-grain bicolor rice.
3. Once the time is up, we transfer the rice to a large, open container and mix it well, aerating it so that it loses the water vapor. It is now ready to add our jewelry: herbs, nuts and fruits if we want.
In the picture you can appreciate the beautiful effect of two-color rice. Between the grains you can see the saffron threads, which have now been integrated into the dish. By washing and cooking the basmati rice to perfection, we obtain loose white and golden grains that will serve as a base for complements of different colors, flavors and textures. Today: almonds, cranberries and mint leaves.
In our case, we top the rice with a mushroom stew, Portobellos and Shiitakes that blend with the flavor of saffron very well. If we want a more festive look we can add toasted pistachios, pieces of dried apricots, candied orange peel and fresh pomegranate seeds. The variations of the dish are endless since we can add fried whole spices (cumin, coriander, mustard) and turn it into an Indian Pulao or a chopped fresh herb mix (parsley, mint) and treat it like a Turkish Pilaf.
In our recipe we focus on the flavor and aroma of saffron contrasted with toasted almonds and cranberries. The mint gives it fresh notes and the sautéed mushrooms make us enjoy every bite. It is a happy dish, very attractive and that makes us dream of parties and celebrations.
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Toni and Javi are active daily cooks who explore the beauty of natural cooking. Our mission is to bring flavor and excellence to healthy eating! 
