Chilled Peaches & Cream Soup with Saffron

Chilled Peach Soup with Saffron

Chilled Peaches & Cream Soup with Saffron
Goat Cheese Flower Croutons

Peaches are available year-round, yet we all know that the season for the most luscious fruit is in the summer. But did you know that the deep red blushing color of the skin occurs only on the side facing the sun?

Juicy, aromatic, sweet peaches make a delightful chilled soup. However this peach soup is even more intriguing with notes of exotic saffron, tart apple, and captivating vanilla. The addition of cayenne pepper adds another layer of complexity. And the texture is just what you would expect from peaches & cream – it’s velvety smooth and lush thanks to the efficiency of a high-performance blender (like Vitamix).

Chilled Peaches & Cream Soup Recipe

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Alaska Spot Shrimp, Saffron Pea Risotto

Alaska Spot Shrimp, Saffron Pea Risotto

Alaska Spot Shrimp, Saffron Pea Risotto

Alaska Spot Shrimp are special, sweet, and succulent. And if cooked correctly, they are luscious and much more tender than the common variety. So if you serve these beauties of the Pacific, you might consider making them the star of the dish: front and center. You can bury them under a rich creamy sauce or a spicy salsa and they would be great, but you just might be covering up a best kept Alaskan secret…Spot Shrimp.

They are truly Southeast Alaska’s hidden gem. Not only one of the world’s most responsibly harvested shrimp—caught in pots by small-scale fishermen—they’re also a gastronomic treasure.

With their slightly briny hint of the sea, spot shrimp taste like a sweet-buttery cross between lobster and Dungeness crab. Seafood lovers will swoon.

Alaska Spot Shrimp Recipe

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Saffron Lemon Shrimp with Bucatini

Saffron Lemon Shrimp with Bucatini

Saffron Lemon Shrimp with Bucatini
Feta, Kalamata Olives, Oregano, Red Chile Flakes

These large plump shrimp have a striking golden hue. Here, the exotic flavor of saffron – that heady spice derived from the dried stigmas of a crocus – takes a simple shrimp and pasta dish to another level.

Traditional Greek ingredients – kalamata olives, oregano and feta play supporting roles as lemon “two ways” adds bright tangy notes and red chile flakes bring piquant qualities.  And while spaghetti or linguini shapes would work just fine, those robust bucatini noodles magically weave this super-satisfying dish together.

Saffron Lemon Shrimp with Bucatini Recipe

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Risotto Milanese (saffron and bone marrow)

Risotto Milanese (saffron and bone marrow)

Risotto alla Milanese

I had been traveling for the holidays. When I came home I wanted to reward my sweet old pooch McIntosh with a bone. He loves these bones from the butcher, and with his old teeth, he does not break the bones into dangerous bits like some of our other dogs would have done. He simply gnaws and licks the bone to his heart’s content. And then he saves them in his boneyard (see below).

Risotto alla Milanese Recipe

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Saffron Rice with Golden Raisins and Pine Nuts

saffron rice recipe, cardamom eggplant recipe

Saffron Rice with Golden Raisins
Roasted Eggplant with Cardamom Oil
Pine Nuts and Sliced Scallion Garnish

Faith said, “If you have time to make the Saffron Rice, please feel free to do so and share your thoughts on the dish and what you served with it.” Well Faith, I’ve made your saffron rice recipe several times since you sent it to me back in September. It rocks. I’ve served it topped with curried chicken salad for lunch, as a side dish to grilled halibut with tomato lemongrass sauce, and over roasted eggplant with cardamom oil. Each time I made the rice, I followed your recipe exactly ~ it’s perfect, balanced, delicious.

An Edible Mosaic

saffron rice eggplant mosaic, how to make a mosaic
Saffron Rice Mosaic in Honor of Faith’s Cookbook

My friend Faith Gorsky from An Edible Mosaic blog just had her first cookbook released: An Edible Mosaic: Middle Eastern Fare with Extraordinary Flair. It is my pleasure to be participating in her Virtual Book Launch Party and sharing a terrific recipe from her book.

The book has over 100 Middle Eastern recipes, with a focus mainly on dishes from the Levant, but also a few recipes from other areas of the Middle East. Faith has a pretty unique story…after getting married Faith spent six months living in the Middle East, where she fell in love with the culture and cuisine. Subsequently, she returned four more times for visits, each time delving deeper into the cuisine and deepening her passion for and appreciation of the region.

Recipes in her book are authentic Middle Eastern, taught to Faith mostly by her mother-in-law, Sahar but streamlined just a bit for the way we cook today, with unique ingredients demystified and cooking techniques anyone can follow. The book is available to order on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

After you check out the recipe below, please head over to Faith’s blog to check out her virtual book launch party to see the other bloggers who are participating. Also, as part of her virtual book launch, Faith is hosting a giveaway of a fabulous set of prizes.

saffron rice, cardamom eggplant with shrimp

Faith’s recipe for Saffron Rice with Golden Raisins and Pine Nuts is vegan. Her mother-in-law likes to serve the Saffron Rice with an aromatic shrimp dish in tomato sauce (a recipe also in the book). I took her mother-in-law’s advice and served it with shrimp tossed with cardamom oil, salt, and pepper.

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