Saffron and Sunshine by Elisabeth Luard

Tapas, Mezze and Antipasti embody Mediterranean eating: food for the family shared around a table. It is here that Elisabeth Luard believes a family finds its strengths. Communicating whilst partaking in the very essence of life. From the inviting jacket of this book, golden sunshine topples out of every page and it will be a book to savour during the dark months of winter.

Why Saffron and Sunshine? Elisabeth feels that these two ingredients symbolise the Mediterranean way of cooking. Saffron is the most expensive of all spices but its magic powers of being able to colour ten thousand times its own volume is extraordinary. It brings to food an uplifting colour and flavours so delicate that they are hard to define. The best supposedly comes from La Mancha, Spain's central plateau. Saffron is the dried stigma of Crocus sativus. The harvesting is labour intensive, each stigma being picked by hand and then dried. A one acre field yields a meagre crop of 10 lbs.

Saffron and Sunshine is the jet setter of cookbooks. One minute the reader is in Andalusia trying out cocido con chorizo, chickpea stew with chorizo, and then at the turn of a page, he finds himself in Egypt considering falafel , fava bean fritters. This cosmopolitan approach works and shows the depth of Elisabeth Luard's knowledge. She has been able to erase the imaginary boundaries of countries in her cooking and see food for what it is.

Luard has a no nonsense approach to cooking. Choose your principal ingredient first, a chicken, fish or freshly picked vegetables, and then build the meal around it. This has been made particularly easy in Saffron and Sunshine as chapters are ruled by common ingredients. To help the cook one step further, each recipe has recommended complimentary dishes. This will save much time and might even get the cook to try out combinations of food that they might not have thought about.

The book is a collection of recipes built up over the years by Elisabeth Luard. Her research has been tireless and she has walked the market places of the Mediterranean to bring this collection to the table. The recipes are straightforward, no fiddling about with fancy presentation. Just get the food on to the table and enjoy it. You will, of course, find recipes here that you have seen before. Their inclusion in the book is because she likes them, which is not unlike having the same old friends to dinner, time after time. Some recipes are like part of the family. However, try them with one of Luard's suggestions and you might be breaking new ground.

Elisabeth Luard won the 1992 Glenfiddich Award with The Flavours of Andalusia and without doubt, she should be shortlisted for this year's Awards with Saffron and Sunshine. This book will entertain you and your family and friends over the coming years. Another classic to join the gastronomic epics already on your shelves.

Elisabeth specially chose this recipe from her book as it illustrates the message she hopes to pass on. If you dislike pigeon, this works equally well with chicken, partridge or pheasant.

Stufato de piccione
Italian stewed pigeons with orange and saffron

Serves 6 - 8

4 pigeons or poussins, halved
3 bitter (Seville) oranges (or 2 lemons and 1 orange)
3 tbs olive oil
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 tbs diced prosciutto
1 tsp chopped oregano or marjoram
1 -2 bayleaves
Nutmeg
About 12 threads of saffron, soaked in boiling water
Salt and pepper<

1. Pare a few strips of the zest from the orange, squeeze the juice and reserve.
2. Heat the oil in a heavy casserole and add the garlic and prosciutto. Let it sizzle for a moment, then add the birds. Turn them in the hot oil to gild them a little.
3. Add oregano, bay, freshly grated nutmeg and saffron with its soaking water, along with the orange juice and zest. Season lightly with salt and generously with pepper. Bubble up and turn down the heat. Cover and leave over a low heat to simmer gently for 40 - 60 minutes, until the birds are perfectly tender. The drumsticks should pull easily from the sides. Check after 30 minutes and moisten with a little water if necessary.
4. Remove birds from pan and put aside. Bubble up juices to concentrate the flavours. Taste and adjust seasoning - a splash of grape-brandy might not come amiss. Snip each bird into quarters and serve trickled with the juices.
Good with focaccia or ciabatta; raw vegetables in season - peas, beans, baby artichokes.

(With thanks to Elisabeth Luard and Bantam Press for allowing us to print this recipe).

AD. 14.09.00
*****
Publication Details:
pp.313. Drawings by Elisabeth Luard and photography by Jeremy Hopley. £20
ISBN 0593043030. Published by Bantam Press
2000
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Other books by Elisabeth Luard
The Rich Tradition of European Peasant Cookery
Flavours of Andalusia
Family Life
Still Life