The title says it all...Last night we were all winners! The menu included Pollo allo Zafferano - Chicken Thighs with Saffron, Green Olives and Mint (page 310), Angela's now famous – at least here at home – risotto, and for the adults some pre-dinner Mojitos. The list of ingredients to purchase was short this time around, due to the fact that we had most of the ingredients in stock. The only major component we did not have was the saffron. Angela helped us out this evening by purchasing the saffron on the way home. Oh boy, was this stuff expensive! I thought Angela was pulling my leg. $20 for a small jar with a little envelope of the saffron tucked inside. The way this stuff was packaged I had flashbacks of college when we made those special brownies. This was the first time I have used saffron. It has a distinctive smell – very floral – and I was somewhat hesitant about using it, but our Captain had given us our orders and I diligently added the 1/2 teaspoon of saffron threads.
After the red onions, saffron and olives had come to a boil and softened we returned the fried chicken and let it simmer for 15 minutes with the pot covered. The house quickly filled with the aroma of the saffron and olives. We weren't sure if we enjoyed the smell or not. Mario and I looked at each other and wondered if our Captain had gone crazy with scurvy while writing these orders. We shook our heads and prayed for the best. We removed the chicken after letting it cook and additional 10 minutes without the cover and added pepper, salt and the fresh mint leaves to the sauce.
The mint was the key to balancing the flavor of the saffron. It was amazing, just by adding this simple fresh ingredient the whole complexity of the sauce changed. Mario and I plated the dishes with a small bed of Angela's risotto as the first layer, placed our chicken thighs on top for the second layer, and a delicate amount of sauce poured over the chicken to complete the dish.
It was divine. What had started out as us questioning our Captain, once again turned into us praising his genius. We all agreed this was a great meal and very simple to put together.
We would like to send a special Grazie (thank you) to Maneize and Grandpa for hooking us up with brand new "The Three Tocayos" aprons! We would also like to thank all of those who have sent emails and posted comments, its nice to know your out there.
And last but not least, we would like to thank Mariesa for all her creative input regarding the copy and design of this blog!
Ciao!
Mario & Mario
The Three Tocayos
