Creamy Saffron Pasta – ricotta, romanesco, peas and cherry tomatoes

Hey there!

 

I realised that I haven’t got many recipes on here including one of the most expensive and delicious tasting spices in the world. I am talking about the one and only saffron, a spice I truly adore and I could honestly eat every day and I sure wouldn’t get sick of it. It is lovely in yoghurt topped with some fresh fruit, also in a heart-warming potato soup or even in a plain and simple saffron risotto, which is actually one of the best ways to enjoy it if you ask me. One of the even better ones though is creamy saffron pasta. The first time I had this must have been at our family friend’s Gret’s house who’s one of the best cooks I know. Then I also remember preparing saffron pasta in cooking school when we had to take part in a one year cooking class while I was in year seven. I already loved it back then and this fact hasn’t changed a bit.

The version I chose today also includes a heap of veggies additionaly to the pasta and the creamy sauce. I just find this to be important in any balanced meal I do though also absolutely love vegetables otherwise I would most definitely not eat them. Trust me I would never ever in my life cook things I even detest the slightest little bit.

Today I went with some romanesco, cherry tomatoes as well as peas, which I found to be a great choice, since they took up the saffron flavour very well.

I am well aware of the fact that you could easily serve your veggies on the side I do however prefer to mix all my ingredients together so the flavours can really infuse in one another. To give the sauce its creaminess I decided to use some ricotta, which in my opinion keeps it very fresh and not to heavy unlike other creamy pasta dishes. To give this dish its finishing touch and some crunchiness I also decided to toast some hazelnuts, which happened to be the perfect addition to an already amazing tasting meal. At the end you could even sprinkle it with some parmesan if you happen to have some around, though I don’t find it to be inevitable.

 

This version of creamy saffron pasta was hands down one of the best ones I had. It was creamy, yet not too rich and still full of amazing flavours. Creamy saffron, crunchy hazelnuts and fresh veggies, the perfect combination.

 

So what are you having for diner tonight? Pretty clear isn’t it, saffron pasta wouldn’t be too bad, would it?

 

Now get cooking yourself.

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients

 

• 250-300g spaghetti (or any other pasta)
• 600g romanesco
• 400g peas
• 20-30 cherry tomatoes
• 2 sachets of saffron
• 6tbs ricotta cheese
• salt
• 1 spring onion
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 20g hazelnuts

 

1. Chop up your romanesco into small rosettes, your cherry tomatoes in half and also finely chop your garlic and spring onion
2. Cook your romanesco in some boiling water until it is nearly tender, don’t over cook it though, since you will cook it for another few minutes when added to the sauce
3. While your romanesco is getting ready heat up some olive oil and fry your garlic and spring onion
4. When the garlic has browned slightly your romanesco should be ready as well, so drain it, then add it to the fried garlic and spring onion, also add the peas then lower the temperature and fry for about a minute
5. Now you can start boiling some more water for your pasta. Also add the ricotta the cherry tomatoes and the saffron to the romanesco pea garlic mixture. Stir it all through and leave it covered on low heat until your pasta is ready. This will probably take around 10 minutes.
6. While your pasta is boiling and the flavours of your sauce are coming together chop up some hazelnuts and toast them in a saucepan until browned slightly. Always keep stirring them around so they won’t burn
7. .When your pasta is cooked al dente, add about 2 dl of pasta water to the sauce, then drain the pasta and add it as well. Mix it all through, so the pasta is evenly distributed through the sauce.
8. Either you give the toasted hazelnuts directly to the pasta and mix it in so you have this slight crunch all the way through your dish or if you prefer just sprinkle a few on top when you plate it up, whatever floats your boat.

 

Voila. You just cooked this delicious creamy spaghetti dish loaded with beautiful flavours. Saffron is just the perfect addition to any creamy pasta sauce at least in my opinion. Well I just adore the taste of saffron and yes I could nearly add it to anything. By adding lots of veggies, you actually create a very filling pasta dish, which makes a perfect meal by itself. This was honestly so easy to prepare, I am actually quite sure that this won’t take you any longer than 30 minutes, which I find is fully appropriate for a lovely home cooked meal. Isn’t it?

Bisous

Fanny, the foodie