Saffron Butter Pasta with Shellfish

This may be my new favourite way to have a quick bowl of pasta!

I mean, what is easier than cooking up a pot of pasta (insert your favourite shape here) and sautéing up some garlic and cherry tomatoes?  But the pièce de résistance is the saffron butter that gets stirred into everything at the end.

Saffron Butter

What you will love about this butter, is how far it stretches saffron.  Saffron is not cheap, it is considered the world’s most expensive spice.  This precious spice, made of harvested and dried crocus crimson stigmas and styles called threads, seems to go so quickly, and suddenly that little amount you’ve been treasuring is gone.  But make this butter up, and you will have the flavour and golden glow for oh so many dishes!  Suddenly that same amount of saffron goes so much further.

Last week I shared a brilliant little recipe from the cookbook ‘Eat, Habibi, Eat’ by Shahir Massoud.  The Harissa Chicken is served on a bed of Israeli Couscous tossed in Saffron Butter.  So I have this jar of Saffron Butter in the fridge now.  I’ve fried up eggs in it, added it to steamed and grilled veggies, and even spread it on bread!  But the one thing I did take issue with, was his method for making the butter.  His method involves melting all the butter and letting the saffron threads infuse in it before adding it to a blender to whip up till smooth.  I followed his method, and found it a complete pain to clean the blender afterwards.  So I’m sharing my method instead!

Set out the amount of butter you want to turn into Saffron Butter the evening before to come to room temperature and soften up.  Then the next day, take a small portion of it to add to a small pot (I have a little butter saucepan which is perfect for this.  You will melt the butter and saffron threads over low heat.  Once it is completely melted, take it off the heat and let it infuse for 10 minutes or so.  Then combine the saffron infused butter and the remaining softened butter in a bowl.  Use a spoon to stir them together until well blended and smooth.  Transfer this to a small jar and store in the fridge.  That’s it.  No blender to clean.

Saffron Butter Pasta

As mentioned at the top, this is totally the easiest recipe you can whip up.  The pasta choice is up to you.  If all you want is the pasta tossed with the saffron butter, I will totally understand!! In fact, add some grated parmesan cheese and call it the best midnight/late night meal!  But to turn this into a meal worthy of company, add some garlic, cherry tomatoes, and shellfish.  On average, 1 tbsp of butter per serving of pasta is good.

Shellfish Prep

I always have shrimp in the freezer, for moments just like these.  This time around I looked in the freezer and found a bag of snow crab claws just begging to be used up.  They only needed to be thawed and re-warmed in the sauté pan with the garlic.  Whether raw, or previously cooked and frozen, shellfish really only take moments to cook up.  As soon as the meat is opaque and has the best pink hue, you know it’s ready to serve.  If you want, you can grill the shellfish separately, or even roast them in the oven for a few minutes.  A perfect method for this is my Harissa Spiked Roasted Shrimp Cocktail!  No matter how you choose to prep the shellfish, just toss it with the pasta at the end.  Scallops, and mussels would also be wonderful with this pasta!  For a quick tutorial on how to prep mussels for this dish, check out this link.  You will need about 1 lb of mussels per person.  Cook and drain them, and toss into the pasta at the end.

Finish it all off with a copious shower of chopped parsley, serve a salad, some garlic bread and chilled Rosé on the side, and you have a wonderful summer meal!  And yes, you can cook the pasta, rinse it in cold water and toss it in a bowl with the garlic and melted saffron butter and turn it into a fabulous shrimp pasta salad!  Just add the cooked chilled shrimp and fresh cherry tomatoes, chopped red onions and cucumbers etc at the end. At this point a shorter pasta would be a better choice.

The weather has turned into summer, and we are all happier as a result.  Hope all is good where you are!

Love Jen

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Saffron Butter Pasta with Shellfish

Simple but so full of flavour! Saffron butter brings all the flavour to a simple pasta dish. Garlic and cherry tomatoes are all that are needed for a quick dinner. Add shellfish to the dish, and suddenly it is company worthy! And it takes 10 minutes from beginning to end!

Course Main Course

Cuisine North American

Keyword garlic, pasta, saffron butter, shellfish, shrimp

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

• 8 oz pasta of choice spaghetti, linguini, fusilli, etc (2 oz or 50 grams per person)
• olive oil
• 3-4 medium cloves of garlic minced
• 2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
• 1 lb shellfish of choice shrimp, snow crab claws, scallops, thawed or fresh
• 1/4 cup softened saffron butter see below
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Saffron Butter, made in advance

• 8 oz softened room temperature butter or 227 grams or 1 cup
• 1 tsp saffron threads

Instructions

1. Bring a pot of salted water to boil and cook pasta according to pkg directions, to al dente
2. About half way to the pasta being finished, add 1 tbsp of olive oil to a large skillet or sauce pan and warm over medium heat. Add the garlic and sweat it to bring out the aroma, about 1 minute. Reduce heat if necessary to keep the garlic from scorching.
3. Add the tomatoes and cook till the skins blister and the juices start running. Add the shellfish and put a lid on the pan if the fish is raw. Simmer till cooked through, about 4-5 minutes till pink, turning half way through to cook both sides.
4. At this point the pasta should be ready. Reserve 1/3 cup of the pasta water, and drain the pasta. Add it to the pan with the garlic, tomatoes and shellfish. Add the butter and toss everything till well coated. If you find that the pasta seems a little dry, add some of the pasta water till the pasta is loose and shiny. Season with salt and pepper as desired.
5. Serve with plenty of chopped parsley.

Saffron Butter

1. Bring the butter to room temperature and softened overnight.
2. Take 1/4 cup of the butter and add it to a small saucepan. Add the saffron threads. Heat over medium low till the butter is melted. Remove from the heat and allow the saffron to infuse the butter for 10-15 minutes.
3. Transfer the remaining softened butter and saffron butter to a bowl and stir well with a spoon till completely blended and smooth. Store in the fridge till needed. Remove beforehand when you want to add it to a recipe so that it can warm up a bit.

4. See Blog post for more suggestions.