Saffron cream sauce is one of those very special treats. Rich, savory, elegant and wonderful. It’s an easy recipe to make and brings to your table an upscale restaurant quality meal. Let’s take a look.
For a sauce recipe that comes with so many culinary credentials, it’s best virtues are that’s it’s easy to make and that the end result a rich beautiful cream sauce that will leave you feeling like a chef.
No so endearing is the fact that adding Saffron to any recipe can be expensive.
This saffron sauce and my recipe for Red Pepper Coulis, are my favorite ways to jazz up seafood.
What is Saffron?
Saffron comes from the flower of a species of crocus plant. The small amount of saffron harvested from one single plant coupled with the fact that it must be harvested manually leads to saffron’s high price tag. Threads are collected from the flower and dried and added to soups and sauces to add color and flavor. Saffron flavor has been described as sweet, floral and earthy flavor. Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been standing on the spice aisle with a bottle of saffron in my hand wondering if the cost really justified the flavor.
Would saffron really add that much of a difference to my recipe?
Justifying the cost is a decision I’ll leave up to you, but those delicate little strands of saffron do seem magical. They add color and a nuance of flavor that’s hard to describe.
To make this saffron cream sauce, cream, broth and seasonings are simmered and reduced using chicken broth and saffron.
The end result is rich, savory and elegant saffron cream sauce. I used this saffron sauce as a base for poached shrimp and asparagus. Dragging each shrimp and each bite of asparagus through the silky cream cream was a delightful pairing of flavors.
Let’s take a look:
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Heavy Whipping Cream
- Chicken Broth
- Butter
- Saffron
- White Pepper: Try White Pepper for this recipe. Not only does the color blend for a more attractive end result. White Pepper has a unique flavor, it’s spicy and sometimes referred to as grassy. It’s commonly used in French cuisine.
- Kosher Salt
- Shallot
Ingredient Substitutions
- Broth: Substitute vegetable broth in place of Chicken broth.
- Pepper: If you don’t have white pepper, use black pepper.
- Shallot: Sweet onion is a good substitute for shallot.
Step By Step Instructions, It’s Easy
- Step 1: In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Once the bubbles subside, add the shallots and cook over medium heat until softened, about 2 minutes.
- Step 2: Add the heavy cream, chicken stock and undrained bloomed saffron, and bring just to a boil. Simmer over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is reduced and thickened, about 15 minutes. Strain sauce, using a fine sieve and serve.
FAQ’s
This is simply not the time to worry about fat calories. The high ratio of milk fat in heavy whipping cream is needed for a thick and luxurious sauce. Half and Half and worse yet, milk, simply won’t accomplish that. And if cooked at a high heat, both products will separate and ruin the recipe. Stick with heavy cream.
Saffron is most commonly known as being used in seafood dishes such as Paella and Bouillabaisse.
Transfer cooled sauce to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for 3 – 4 days. This sauce will also freeze well. Store in a freezer safe plastic bag. Push all the air out, and store for up to 3 months.
A small sauce pan works best. Let the sauce thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Place it in a small saucepan over low heat and bring it to a simmer. Be careful with it, no need to boil it to a roiling boil, it could compromise the creamy texture.
Tips
- Bloom the saffron threads before cooking, doing so will extract its trademark flavor and color into the sauce.
- Don’t skip straining the sauce through a sieve before serving. We did this for every sauce we made in Culinary School. Even if there weren’t any particles like cooked shallots. It simply makes any sauce creamier and silkier.
- Poach the shrimp in ale or beer. Simply using beer rather than water adds a nice flavor zing.
Ways To Use This Sauce
I chose to place cooked shrimp and asparagus in a shallow bowl that contained a ladle of the sauce. Here’s some more ideas.
- Drizzle saffron cream sauce over seared scallops and steamed broccoli.
- Saffron sauce is such a delicate elegant piece of work, I simply don’t think serving it over grilled chicken would be it’s best moment. Perhaps chicken breast cutlets that have been pounded thin, lightly sauteed in a neutral oil and seasoned with a little garlic, salt and pepper. Let the sauce be the hero here.
- Saffron Sauce for Pasta: Toss this sauce with the pasta shape of your choice. Pappardelle would be a good choice here. Then garnish with chopped fresh parsley and some grated Parmesan Cheese.
- Drizzle the sauce over the ravioli of your choice. Cheese ravioli or even Lobster ravioli would work well. Again, grated parmesan cheese would be great on top.
- Saffron sauce for Fish: A drizzle would be delightful over oven baked Halibut. For a pop of color serve it beside this Hearts of Palm Salad with Avocado.
This is a thin sauce. If using saffron cream sauce for pasta, make a cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce. Towards the end of cooking, remove 2 tablespoons of the sauce, and mix it with two tablespoons of cornstarch. Use a fork to combine into a paste and add back to the sauce. Bubble until sauce has thickened. A thicker sauce will be better for a creamy pasta dish.
Recipe for Saffron Cream Sauce
We savored every special bite if this shrimp in Saffron Cream Sauce. Talk about the perfect date night meal. You may want to consider this one for Valentine’s Day.
I hope you give this recipe a try.
More Sauce Recipes To Add To Your Repertoire
And if you’re looking for more Shrimp recipes, don’t miss my Seafood Category. You’ll find lots of great recipes, including the most popular seafood recipe on my site for Spicy and Creamy Shrimp Pasta.
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Saffron Cream Sauce
Ingredients
- Pinch of saffron threads
- 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 large shallot peeled and fine chopped
- 1 Cup heavy cream
- 1 Cup Chicken Broth
- ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon White pepper
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch Only if you want a thicker sauce
Instructions
- Soak the threads of saffron in 1 tablespoon of water for 10 minutes. This is called blooming and will add extract it's signature flavor and color into the water.
- In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Once the bubbles subside, add the shallots and cook over medium heat until softened, about 2 minutes.
- Add the heavy cream, chicken stock and undrained bloomed saffron, and bring just to a boil. Lower heat and simmer over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is reduced and thickened, about 15 minutes.
- Strain the sauce through a fine sieve into a small saucepan and season with the salt and white pepper. Keep the saffron sauce warm over low heat, stirring occasionally.
- Spoon the saffron sauce into shallow bowls, top with cooked asparagus and poached shrimp and serve.
- If you want a thicker saffron cream sauce to use for pasta, mix three tablespoons of the sauce and two tablespoons cornstarch. Mix well and return to sauce at the end of cooking. Bubble until the sauce thickens.
Notes
- Drizzle saffron cream sauce over seared scallops and steamed broccoli.
- Toss this sauce with the pasta shape of your choice. Pappardelle would be a good choice here. Then garnish with chopped fresh parsley and some grated Parmesan Cheese.
- Drizzle the sauce over the ravioli of your choice. Cheese ravioli or even Lobster ravioli would work well. Again, grated parmesan cheese would be great on top.
Nutrition
Saffron Cream Sauce …It’s what’s for a Special Dinner.
Why Trust My Recipes? I am a Culinary School Graduate and believe that everyone should try to cook as often as they can. I’ve been cooking for 50 years, and my recipes are tried and true tested and tested and then tested again before published. To read more take a look at my About Page.
The taste of the sauce is spot on.
However, it is too thin. No amount of boiling to reduce thickens the sauce. It is runny on the plate. It is barely usable with rice which absorbs some of the sauce. It is too thin & runny to use on any pasta.
The final step in the recipe needs to be adding a corn starch slurry.
You are absolutely correct. I’ve added instructions to that effect. Thanks for your note.
Wow, that looks amazing Lea Ann! I love cooking with beer, and I bet those shrimp are delicious!! Thank you so much for sharing with us at Best of the Weekend. Pinned to our party board. 🙂
Thanks so much for stopping in and the comment Lisa. Thanks for that pin and the link party.
This looks so flavorful. I wish Costco sold saffron! 😉
Wouldn’t that be nice? Costco size would probably only cost $2,000 🙂
Ah yes! I do catch up, but it takes awhile. Love saffron and shrimp and this looks superb! Great photo!
Thanks Abbe. This one was special.
Such a beautiful and delicious post! The photos and your description made my mouth water. I always add beer to my boil, but not just straight beer – did you add anything to it? I am so going to do this next time I make shrimp. As for saffron (me precious) I buy beautiful little jars of it at TJMaxx when it shows up in their gourmet section. LOVE what it does to a cream sauce or risotto. This sounds like such a special meal!
Risotto and saffron is next up on my list. I’ve heard that TJ Maxx sells it. I really need to go in there more often. It’s silly that I don’t, we have one so close. It’s just that the parking lot is hell! No, I didn’t add anything to the beer.
Stumbled onto this great site via a google search, and just realized you are in the building next to mine. Mind… blown…
Sometimes the ‘net is a small world after all. Can’t wait to try this recipe
Saffron is so expensive, but so, so worth it! This looks totally wonderful — thanks.
I wish I hadn’t waited so long to buy it. Thanks for stopping by John.
saffron cream sauce sounds delicious!
Thanks Sarah and Arkadi! 🙂
That’s absolute perfection, Lea Ann! Fabulous presentation too! Sounds delicious and I can almost taste those shrimp dipped into the sauce.
Thanks Barbara. We really enjoyed this meal.
I found some cheap small jars at TJ Maxx (my store!). We had some delicious saffron cream sauce with chicken at a recent cooking class (that I hope to post about soon). This looks delicious and well worth the cost. Sometimes the best things in life are worth it!
Thanks Debra. I really need to browse the kitchen section of TJ Maxx more often. And I can’t wait to hear about that recipe.
Im so hungry I could eat this for breakfast!
I did the next morning. I had enough for a little bit of leftovers.
You are right, sometimes it’s good to splurge.. and this definitely looks like one of those times!!!
Thanks Jenn.
Beautiful dish, Lea Ann! You’ve convinced me to buy saffron. I also have looked at it many times on the shelf and haven’t been sure that I need it but now I know better, thanks!
I’m wondering about the Indian Market at University and County Line. I’m going to check the prices there.
Thanks for the beer tip.
Oh yea – the dish looks good too.
I don’t even like beer and I loved this one.
You had me at ale.. But then I began admiring the photos (in the same way we were taught to view art). Gorgeous. Culinary masterpiece.
Thanks so much Adam.
Lea Ann this recipe and the photos are blowing my mind right now! Wow!!
Thank you so much Robyn!
That is one gorgeous plate Lea Ann. I wish I could reach right in and drag one of the beautiful shrimp through the sauce. I will definitely be making this. I have poached shrimp in beer in the past and found it to be an excellent way to cook them.
Sam
I wish you could too Sam. We really thought this was delicious.