Saffron Chicken

Happy Valentine’s Day! Whether you are celebrating this holiday with your significant other, your friends, your family or alone, I have the perfect recipe for you. This Saffron Chicken is fancy (saffron automatically makes anything fancy) and it is also simple to make. Simmer chicken in a saffron infused well spiced sauce and you get this beautifully fragrant fall off the bone tender chicken. Make this recipe tonight with some rice and roasted vegetables on the side. You will surely impress anyone you serve it to including yourself (you know how I feel about impressing yourself).

Saffron is one of those spices that I just never thought of buying since it is known as the most expensive spice in the world. But one day while having one of my impromptu retail therapy sessions at Marshalls I found some at a decent price so of course I had to buy it. So if you are thinking, “this recipe is immediately disqualified because I don’t have Saffron money,” think again! You can get some decently priced at Marshalls or Trader Joe’s and I am sure at other stores as well. A little goes a long way (you could even use less than the recipe asks for). And besides, what better time to splurge on food than now?

Saffron’s Flavor

The only use I have heard of for saffron is paella. But I learned that there are so many ways to use this spice, both savory and sweet. Saffron has a unique floral and earthy/woody flavor that I believe pair well with bolder flavors like ginger or cinnamon. I also learned that there is a lot of inauthentic saffron out there. But there are ways to find out how authentic saffron is based on the appearance and other factors. This video is a great resource. You can probably find purer saffron than what Marshall’s or Trader Joe’s has to offer. But as long as the flavor is consistent with the floral fragrance of Saffron, your chicken will have that unique delicious taste.