Saffron Soup Recipes

SAFFRON CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP

Steps:

• Place chicken, leek, celery, carrot thirds (not sliced carrots), parsley sprigs, bay leaf, saffron, peppercorns, and 1 tablespoon salt in a large pot. Add enough water to cover completely (about 14 cups). Bring to a boil, then skim foam from surface; reduce heat to low and gently simmer until chicken is cooked through, 25 minutes.
• Remove chicken; continue simmering broth while you discard skin and remove meat from bones. Cover meat and refrigerate; return bones to pot and simmer 2 1/2 to 3 hours more.
• Strain broth through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean pot; discard solids, including bones. (You should have about 7 cups broth.) Skim fat. Add sliced carrots and celery to pot and bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are very tender, about 25 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cook egg noodles in a pot of salted boiling water according to package directions; drain. Shred or cut some of reserved chicken to yield 3 cups of bite-size pieces (save extra for salads or sandwiches) and add to broth with noodles; season to taste. Simmer until heated through, about 2 minutes; serve with parsley leaves.

GARLIC AND SAFFRON SOUP

Steps:

• Heat 4 tablespoons oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. add bread cubes and garlic and sauté until bread is light golden, about 4 minutes. Add wine, then broth and saffron; bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 25 minutes. Puree soup in blender. Return soup to saucepan. Season with salt.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Arrange French bread slices on cookie sheet. Brush with remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Bake until lightly toasted, about 8 minutes. Sprinkle cheese over croutons. Transfer cookie sheet to broiler; broil croutons until cheese melts. Place 2 croutons in each bowl. Bring soup to simmer. Ladle over croutons. Sprinkle with chives and a few saffron threads and serve.

FIDDLEHEAD AND SAFFRON SOUP

Steps:

• Trim the fiddleheads and wash by rinsing in a sink of cold water up to 4 times. Drain. Cook in a pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and immediately plunge into a basin of ice-water to set the color and stop the cooking. Drain, and set aside.
• Heat the chicken stock with the saffron to boiling. Turn off the heat. In a bowl, beat together the yolks and lemon juice. Whisk a ladleful of the hot stock over the yolk mixture. Add another. Then whisk the egg mixture back into the stock. Stir in the cream. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Add the fiddleheads and gently reheat, without boiling. Serve. Cook's Note: If it boils, it will curdle.

SAFFRON SOUP

Steps:

• Melt butter in a heavy-bottom soup kettle. Add onions, garlic and saffron and cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until onions are softened. Do not let onions brown.
• Bring chicken stock to a boil. Add bread crumbs to onions and stir to mix thoroughly. Add chicken stock and stir again. Bring soup to a boil and immediately lower heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.
• Puree soup in a blender, food processor or fine-mesh food mill. Strain soup, discarding solids. Return to rinsed-out soup kettle. Add cream and lemon juice. Mix well and taste, adding salt and pepper if desired. May be served immediately, or chilled and served as a summer soup.

SAFFRON SHRIMP SOUP WITH TUBETTINI

Steps:

• Heat olive oil and butter in saucepan. Add tarragon, carrot and onion, cover and simmer over very low heat for 5 minutes or until tender. If vegetables are too dry, add a tablespoonful of white wine, cover and cook. When vegetables are tender, remove the cover, add remaining wine, and saffron and evaporate until almost all of the wine is gone. Add the broth, fish stock and diced tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Add the pasta and cook uncovered for 5 minutes or until just tender. Add the shrimp and peas and bring back to a simmer. Season to taste with salt and pepper and garnish with chives or scallions.

SAFFRON TOMATO SOUP

Steps:

• In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat olive oil to medium heat.
• Add garlic and onions and allow to sweat for 4 to 5 minutes by covering the pan. Add the tomatoes and saffron.
• Season lightly with salt and pepper. Cover and reduce heat to low. Stir occasionally. When the tomatoes, onions, and garlic are soft, remove and allow to cool in a separate container on ice.
• When the mixture is cool, puree in a blender or food processor.
• Serve hot or cold, garnished with a drizzle of olive oil.

CREAM OF GARLIC & SAFFRON SOUP

Steps:

• Soak the saffron in 2 tbsp hot water for 10 minutes. Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add the garlic (and its skin), onion, celery and bay leaf to the pan, stir to coat in the butter, then cook very gently, covered, for about 15-20 minutes. The garlic and onions should be very soft and tender but not at all browned, so keep the heat low.
• Uncover and add the sherry, raise the heat and bring to the boil then add the stock, saffron and its liquid, 1 tsp salt and a good grinding of fresh black pepper. Bring to the boil, stir in the rice and simmer gently for 15 minutes or until the rice is just cooked. Fish the bay leaf out and discard.
• Liquidise the soup then sieve back into the pan (this gets rid of any bits of skin). Pour in the cream and reheat until hot. Adjust the seasoning adding a little lemon juice to taste if liked and thin with a splash of milk if too thick. Serve sprinkled with croûtons.