My adventure at the LongHouse Food Revival last weekend was very interesting. It was different than what I expected based on the topic title – The Saffron Diaspora. Just a bit of time was spent on saffron and the saffron martinis I was so excited about turned out to be made with a homemade moonshine of 140 proof!! So only a tiny sip was given out, as it should have been. It wasn’t a pretty color but there were two versions, flavored with peaches and cinnamon. I preferred the cinnamon, as the peach flavored one was too sweet.
What was inspiring and the best part of the entire weekend was the ability to meet lots of new foodies in all different areas of the profession and to be able to have intimate conversations with them.
I was fortunate to have some private conversations with chef and well-known Persian cookbook author Najmieh Batmanglij, as she made her very famous Iranian Jeweled Rice. Isn’t this dish just so pretty? It’s very tasty too! I loved the explosions of candied orange rind with the crunch of almonds and pistachios and the tartness of the barberries (or you could use dried cranberries).
This is a labor-intensive dish and remember, in any Persian rice dish, the grains should be separate and long. It is traditionally made for Iranian wedding celebrations and the glistening pops of color truly look like jewels on your plate — orange peel, carrots and saffron for gold, barberries for rubies, pistachios for emeralds and almonds for pearls.
When we visited India several years ago, I brought home rice as it tastes so different and wonderful there. The same was true with Najmieh’s saffron rice. She said she has friends bring back bags for her. To make this without the direct import of rice, I suggest using Basmati white rice.
Najmieh gave me the scoop on saffron. She said you should grind the saffron to a powder (use a mortar and pestle) with half of a sugar cube, as the sugar removes the moisture from the saffron, and then store it in a tightly covered jar in the refrigerator, or make saffron water and keep in the fridge. To make saffron water, mix two tablespoons of hot water or rose water or orange blossom water with 1/4 teaspoon of saffron powder and store in a covered jar in the fridge. Both versions make the saffron ready to use and Najmieh obviously uses a lot of it, so she wants it always handy. The Iranian Jeweled Rice recipe calls for the saffron orange blossom water.
For the recipe, please check out Najmeih’s cookbooks on Amazon. They are beautiful and inspired and clearly written with LOVE.
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Oh I love jeweled rice, I have never made it though. It’s beautiful and delicious. An excellent suggestion on storing saffron, I’ll have to try it. I read about Longhouse on Mealku’s blog, it sounds like it was wonderful. I can just taste that rice.
apuginthekitchen recently posted…12 Years Ago Today….
It’s true – it’s beautiful and delicious with wonderful, varied pops of flavor. I met Karen and we talked about you! All good things!
Mary this is your cousin that has the same birthday as you in STL! I love reading all your posts. This one especially on storing saffron. I do enjoy cooking,not to the extent you do, but I’ve learned so much over the last year or 2. Sorry it has taken me so long to comment, so busy! But now recuperating in Pensacola FL after bilateral knee replacements. My Daughter Kristy and Son In Law Tim live here. Your Brother John and his wife have been here to visit with my Mom & Dad last fall when they were down here. Mom & Dad are coming down next week so I’m sure I will see John at some point soon. John is about 45 min away. Again I look forward to all your posts, & updates on your family. Take Care Karen
Ohhh it’s so nice to hear from you!!! So sorry to hear about your knees! Hope all is okay now. Do your PT!! And comment more often!
Love, Mary
What great colors in your rice!
yummychunklet recently posted…ffwD: Veal Chops with Rosemary-Thyme Butter
Yes – they’re beautiful like jewels!!
I recently cooked a version of jewelled rice, without the barberries and not knowing that dried cranberries would work as a substitute. It was delicious and was worth all the time it took to prepare.
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It is a very time consuming dish – glad to hear you felt it was worth it all!
When I lived in Knoxville I employed a woman who’d escaped from Iran and Mehri made this dish for me along with some other wonderful food. What a treat!
Maureen | Orgasmic Chef recently posted…4th Floor Restaurant – Mooloolaba
Well weren’t you lucky!!
Very interesting post. I always like reading about different cuisines and what their specialties are.
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Thanks!! Me too!!
Funny I was asking a pal yesterday for ideas of what to do with saffron and then bingo your post arrives! I’ve had jewelled rice at a wonderful Persian supper club http://wonderlusting.co.uk/2012/09/20/sabrinas-persian-kitchen-supperclub/ and will try and make myself one day.
Well I was reading your mind! 🙂 Do let me know how it works out for you!
This is my all time favorite Persian dish. The colors and taste are out of this world, and the smells brings me back home to my mama’s kitchen
It’s so true!! It’s a multiple sensory dish!