Over the past twenty years, Tuscany has seen a resurgence of saffron production. In the Middle Ages, Italy was a huge producer of saffron. After the black plague swept thru in the 1300’s and wiped out two thirds of the population in many towns, saffron growing fell off, taken up by North Africa and Spain. Only in Abruzzo, in the province of Aquila, have they been harvesting saffron continually for the past 800 years. When the Tuscan town of San Gimignano decided twenty years ago to start producing saffron again, after a 600 year hiatus, they turned to Aquila to get their bulbs.
3 lbs of saffron threads
Saffron is the stamen of a particular purple crocus flower that is planted in June and harvested in late October and early November. At well over $20,000 a pound, saffron is the most expensive spice in the world. The planting and harvesting is completely done by hand, which is one of the reasons it’s so expensive. After the flowers are picked by hand, the long stamens inside the blossoms must be removed immediately. The deep reddish orange threads are then slowly dried over a low bed of coals, losing 80% of their original weight in the process.
0.1 gram = 3.50 euro
0.1 grams = 4.50 euro
Saffron has a medicinal smell, a bit like iodine, and delivers a shockingly brilliant gold color to food. In medieval times it was used as medicine and as currency. Yielding the highest levels of Vitamin A of any known source, saffron was used to treat disease, especially that of the eye. It was also used to dye clothes and paints. The brilliant yellow color in clothing or art became a sign of wealth. Because it was too expensive to use in cooking, there are no medieval recipes calling for saffron. Most recipes, such as risotto Milanese, are more recent in origin.
Saffron is also one of the most adulterated of spices, meaning sometimes you don’t get what you pay for. Dishonest sellers have been known to add ground terracotta and turmeric to increase the weight and deliver the characteristic yellow color. It’s best to buy whole threads instead of ground, but even then there is a flower from Asia which has parts closely resembling saffron threads, so always buy from a reputable source. The good news is that you don’t need much to flavor and color a dish.
The following recipe for Lasagna di Zafferano (Saffron Lasagna) is one I picked up in the town of Navelli di Aquila in Abruzzo when I was there recently. The besciamella sauce is flavored with saffron threads and then layered with fresh pasta sheets, pork sausage and Parmigiano. Rich, creamy and light, it has a medieval perfume and is brilliant color on the plate.
Buon Appetito! Gina
Lasagna con Zafferano e Salsiccie
The lasagna is made by layering fresh egg pasta sheets, saffron besciamella sauce, crumbled Italian pork sausage and grated Parmigiano. (note: “besciamella” is the Italian spelling of the French word “béchamel”.)
Fresh pasta sheets make a lighter lasagna and you can get as many as 10 layers of pasta in the pan. Prepackaged lasagna noodles are thick and don’t render as delicate a dish, but they will suffice.
Saffron Besciamella
4 tbsp butter
4 tbsp flour
4 cups milk, heated
.02 grams saffron threads, or ½ teaspoon
1 teas salt
½ teas white pepper, ground
Heat the milk and add the saffron. Melt butter on a medium heat and add the flour, stirring constantly until flour is incorporated. This roux should be allowed to gently cook for a minute to allow the flour taste to cook out. Be very careful not to brown the roux. Stir in the hot milk, pouring steadily and whisking vigorously to avoid lumps. Add salt and pepper and continue to cook over medium heat for several minutes until thickened, take off fire and cool slightly before using.
To assemble the lasagna, in a large baking dish cover the bottom with a small amount of besciamella and a light drizzle of olive oil. Cook the pasta sheets one or two at a time in boiling, salted water for ½ minute, remove and place in a water bath to cool and then add the layer of pasta to the pan. It’s best to cook each layer of pasta as you need it, rather than cook it all and let it sit in the water. Make layers by adding the sausage, Parmigiano, besciamella and pasta sheets until you have a lasagna at least 1 ½” thick. Finish with a generate sprinkle of Parmigiano. The lasagna should be more pasta than sauce and hold together rather than being goopy. Bake at 400 degrees until golden browned and bubbling.