Grouper Cheeks with Saffron Cream

Last night I had four pieces of Grouper Cheeks for dinner. Grouper is a pretty common and tasty fish down in Florida, but nothing really ever comes close to my love of Baked Haddock. Now normally I have seen this fish fried in a cornmeal type batter or a beer batter but this time I wanted something different. I sauteed them in a non stick pan with salt, pepper, and garlic. This fish is very delicate and tasty but it needed an extra punch of flavor. I went to a forum and they all suggested a garlic butter sauce that I am sure would go nicely. But I wanted something so much more than the typical butter and garlic flavors. I really enjoy those flavors but they tend to be over used  quite a bit in recipes.

So me being me, I looked in my fridge and said "Self, what can I use to make a Sauce" and low and behold I found what I wanted.  A Saffron Cream Sauce! I wasn't sure at first if this flavor profile would be overpowering but I figured hey its worth a shot right? And I am so glad I did too. It was amazing! I wish I was able to get my camera working correctly as it just wasn't able to catch the beautiful yellow the Saffron made. 

What is Saffron you ask? Saffron is a very costly spice, used to flavor and color food. The spice is actually the dried stigma (tiny threadlike strands) of the Crocus Sativus Linneaus, a member of the iris family.  This stigma is handpicked which also increases the price of the Saffron but boy is it worth it. You can go to the store and find a Vigro brand of Saffron for about $5.00 and that is enough for what use it for.

So now to the recipe! It is fairly easy, you just have to make sure your cream doest boil over on the stove.


Saffron Cream Sauce

1 Pinch of Saffron Threads
1 cup of heavy cream (Heck why not)
1 Shallot
1 tsp or more of Olive Oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Finally chop your shallots and brown them in the Olive Oil until lightly brown.

2. Add the heavy cream and Saffron Threads and heat through

*cooks notes* when I made this I felt I was not getting the yellow color I was looking for. Don't worry one pinch will be enough. As the cream heats through, the Saffron will begin to release it's beautiful color.

3. Add your salt and pepper to the sauce and let it reduce until the cream is thick enough to coat the back of your spoon.

*cooks note* Not everyone may know what this means. Coating the spoon means to run your finger through the sauce on the back of the spoon. If the spoon remains visible then the Sauce has reduced and thickened to the desired level.
4. Serve on fish, pasta, or whatever else you can imagine and enjoy!