Chicken with Saffron Sauce (Pollo con salsa al azafrán)

One of the great star spices of Spain is saffron ("azafrán"), as we mentioned in previous entries. Saffron is the stigma from the crocus flower and every flower has three stigmas. The bulbs are underground for three years. After this period the bulbs are removed from the ground, leaving the soil to rest for 10 to 15 years and moving to another plot to plant back the best bulbs and discard the worst. The stigmas are picked by hand, making it a very laborious process since to get a kilogram you need about 200,000 flowers and then the stigmas have to dried. All of these reasons make saffron the most expensive spice in the world. Fortunately, you only need a small pinch or a few threads to infuse flavor and color to any dish. The best quality saffron has to be an intense red.

Ingredients:

1 thigh, chicken breast or leg per person

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 carrots, cross cut

1 leek, cross cut

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

1 pinch saffron

1 glass of white wine

2 cups chicken stock

green asparagus

white asparagus

artichokes

1/2 cup flour mixed with smoked paprika

In a pot, brown the chicken with olive oil and  remove it. Lower the heat, add the onion, carrots, leek and garlic and let them poach. In the meantime toast the saffron (be careful not to burn), remove it and add to warm chicken stock. When the onions are translucent, add the chicken and wine and let the sauce reduce. Stir with a wooden spoon to get all the juices of the chicken and then add the saffron with the chicken stock to the pan. Simmer until the liquid reduces to half.

Remove the chicken. Blend the sauce and then add it to the chicken. Serve with white and green asparagus and deep fried artichokes previously dusted with wheat flour and smoked Spanish paprika.