But here's a story I'll tell from start to finish. It's about some scallops, saffron and a big ass mushroom.
As many of you are aware, my spices arrived here this week :) You can imagine how happy I have been all week thinking of all of the things I could now make. One of the spices in my box is saffron. Not easily found in Canada, at least not where I was living. But, occasionally, I would find some and when I did I would buy a lot of it. This happened to be the case just before I was leaving Hamilton, so I bought 6 packs and put them in the package to be mailed here. At some point this week I started thinking about said saffron and decided I was going to work around that this weekend.
Saffron has a very unique taste. I'm not even sure how to describe it, I guess maybe a bit bitter and earthy, but you definitely know when it's there, and when it's not. It has a characteristic bright yellow color in any dish, as you will see in the picture. The spice itself is red (it's actually the stigma from crocus flowers) but when you soak it in hot liquid it releases a beautiful yellow pigment and flavor.It is the world's most expensive spice by weight, but luckily, you don't need much for the desired effect.
So, what I decided on was to make a saffron sauce. I have seen it before, but never tried it, so naturally I had to try to make it myself. It's fairly simple; some shallots, white wine, saffron, a bit of cream, salt and pepper, and a bit of butter (of course). Et voila! Saffron sauce. Of course, other flavors can be added to this if you like.
I knew all week this was what I was going to make. But that was easy part. The bigger question was what was I going to put it on? I suppose I could have just chugged it, but that's no fun :) So, like I always do when I don't know what to make, I went to the market to look around and let the local selection decide for me. First stop, cheese guy. This guy has about 30 different kinds of British cheeses at his stall, so I almost always go there first to give them a try. I'm sure I will have sampled them all by the end of the March. This week I went with the blue goat cheese (one I had last week but was so god I had to get more), Wensleydale with cranberries, and "red devil" which is a spicy Leicester cheese. Next stop, seafood guy. This is a small stall but he has a pretty good selection. What caught my eye was the sea scallops. Normally they kind of blend into the background (ice), but these ones still had the roe attached, which is bright orange. That was enough to convince me that I wanted them, and worked out well as a pair for the sauce. Next stop, wander around the veggie stalls. Boom! Perfect looking portobello mushrooms. Into the bag! It was with the mushrooms that I my plan all came together in my head. "Surf and earth". Clearly you understand where there "surf" part of that comes from, but the "earth" comes from the other earthy ingredients I was going use; mushrooms, blue cheese, saffron, tarragon. All of these things signify earth to me, and also give of those characteristic earthy flavors. Blue cheese might not really come to mind when you think of earthy flavors, but lets be honest, the mold kinda tastes like dirt right? Well, it used to taste like dirt to me, and I never used to like blue cheese, but I have developed a fondness for it over the last few months, and while I still think it has a bit of dirt taste, it has so much more than that.
Without further adieu, I introduce to you, Surf and Earth. Pan seared scallops on top of a blue goat cheese stuffed portobello mushroom, with fresh tagliatelle and saffron sauce. And of course, a beautiful white wine, 2008 Pegasus Bay sauvignon/semillon blanc from the Waipara Valley, NZ. Highly recommend it!
