Last Night at Chez Bart: Saffron Orzo with Shrimp

*Note: I know this has nothing to do with traveling; still, I figured I would document some of the cooking I do. I plan on including pictures of the actual cooking, the finished dish, tasting notes, and libation parings. As this is the first one, I didn't take many pictures. As I do more of these posts I am sure  I will get the hang of it!

Saffron Orzo with Shrimp

This recipe came from Giada de Laurentiis' Everyday Pasta, a sequel to her best selling cookbook, Everyday Italian. I have had Everyday Italian, for a while, and I love it. Giada provides a nice array of recipes, from pasta dishes, to antipasti, salads, deserts, and more typical main entrées like Veal Scaloppini, and Osso Bucco. Most are very accessible to amateur chefs like myself, and the end results are very tasty.

Anyways, yesterday I had a strong desire to cook something tasty for dinner. I wandered over to Barnes & Noble, perused through their cooking section, and ended up with Everyday Pasta. I picked out this recipe a bit later, jotted down the ingredients, and ran over to Holiday Market for the necessary items.

Store Notes: This dish can get a bit pricey, due to it calling for saffron. A jar of saffron in the spice isle of your neighborhood supermarket can be over $20. The shrimp can also be expensive; 2lbs of jumbo shrimp can easily eclipse $30. One can settle for smaller shrimp; this would drop the price to a bit over $15.

Prep Notes: This dish is very easy to prepare. The only slicing and dicing required is 1/4 cup of fresh flat-leaf (Italian) parsley.

Cook Notes: There are two critical junctures when preparing this dish: 1. blooming the saffron, and 2. cooking the orzo. 

Blooming the saffron is the simmering of the saffron in the cooking liquid before adding the pasta. This is what brings the tasty essence of the saffron into the liquid, so when you add the starch to the water, the essence is transfered to the pasta. Once the liquid has reached a boil, lower the heat to that of a rolling simmer, and add the saffron. Stir occasionally, and after 5 minutes or so, you will notice the saffron starting to pull apart like a flower blooms. Once this occurs, raise the heat so the liquid boils, and then add your orzo.

With cooking the orzo, the key is to not overcook it so it is soft like steamed rice. Orzo is technically a pasta, and as such, should be cooked till al dente (to the tooth, or with a slight resistance to the bite). Cook the orzo for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Around the 8 minute mark, sample the orzo, and use that taste to give a sense as to how much longer it will take. Whatever you do, don't be afraid to pull the sauce pan off the stove, with liquid remaining, and drain the orzo. Sometimes the orzo will be done with hardly any liquid remaining, and sometimes not. Just don't overcook it in order to boil the remaining liquid - it will turn to mush!

Finally served and garnished with some left over parsley.
Look at that gorgeous golden color from the saffron!

Tasting Notes: The saffron, aside from imbuing the orzo with a beautiful golden color, provides a very sweet and subtle flavor that is well worth its expensive price. The sweetness of the shrimp, combined with that of the saffron, is enhanced by the generous use of olive oil, making this surprisingly rich and decadent. Much to my surprise, this is balanced nicely with lemon and pepper notes used to prepare the shrimp before sautéing.

Libation Notes: While pairing a seafood dish with red wine is seen by some as heresy, the richness of this dish could stand on its own against any but the most vibrant italian reds. If one wanted to stick with a white wine, I would prefer something a bit drier and fuller-bodied, like a Chardonnay. If you did want to pair it with a red, then a nice Chianti Classico, Nebbiolo, or Barbera would do the trick; medium bodied and not too dry, as to not over-power the presence of the seafood.

Overall: Easy to make, but pricey. Would serve as an excellent side for a special occasion, or a cozy romantic meal for two in the middle of winter.