Instructions
I am, as I’m sure you’re aware, a bit of a food nerd. My down time is often spent surfing the web reading recipes and menus, searching for ideas. In particular, I’m fond of trawling for menus from great or seminal events. What did Einstein eat at his Nobel dinner, or Her Maj at the coronation. That sort of thing.
And so it was that I came across a spot of comedy in food.
You will recall that in 2002 President George W Bush delivered a slashbuckling piece of oratory commonly known as the State of the Union address in which he coined the moniker ‘axis of evil’ to describe Syria, North Korea and Iran.
I take no issue with his politics, that’s for folks with bigger brains than me, but the irony must have been palpable when, at the formal dinner afterwards, the main course of braised halibut in saffron was served.
No? No takers for the gag?
I guess there probably wasn’t on the night either.
You see Iran produces about 94% of all the world’s saffron, 20 tonnes each year, and is the source of the finest saffron. Yet directly after imploring the world to embargo Iranian goods as a pressure point on weapons talks, the President sat down to what almost certainly was a fine piece of Iranian-scented food!
You see, they should have put a protocol officer in the kitchens.
Saffron is the stigmas of a bright blue crocus flower first discovered in ancient Persia. There are just three tiny strands in each crocus that must be plucked by hand using an ancient technique. After picking, the stigmas are dried over charcoal embers until they have lost 80% of their weight.
It is intensely laborious and cannot be machanised, yet the saffron’s value is extraordinary. Astringent, hay-like, floral and brilliantly coloured it adds the idea of sunshine into food, giving it a profound quality of joy.
For all that, you’ll pay a price! Saffron is one of the world’s most expensive products by weight. The best Iranian coupe saffron will sell for around $15,000 a kilo. Luckily you only need a pinch!
Dry-aged sirloin with mushrooms and olives in saffron and verjuice