Growing saffron.

Saffron crocus -- growing your own saffron. 

Saffron crocus.  The orange-red stamen are the saffron spice.

Saffron is expensive and difficult to find in some areas.  However, you can plant the saffron crocus bulbs from June to mid-September and harvest the orange stamen for saffron in October.  Let them dry completely before storing. I planted them very deep (maybe 6 inches) and if there are early frosts you would have to use a cloche or a cold frame cover.  On the other hand, you could just harvest the saffron on those years that the weather is not so strange.

Saffron threads.

The crocuses lie dormant most of the summer.  They are not dead.  In fall grass like leaves will come up, followed by the flower.

Slow roasted organic beans with tomato and saffron.

Baby lima beans with tomato and saffron.

 

This dish is very easy, inexpensive (especially if you do not use saffron), and can be reheated for leftovers and reincarnated into several different dishes through the week.  I use oven dried tomatoes that are in the freezer from the summer --  http://savingdragonflies.blogspot.com/2015/09/preserving-summer-roasted-tomatoes-buy.html  

You can eat these beans with a little saffron rice for an almost vegetarian meal (cook diced onion, add saffron and then the rice).   Sausages or chicken may be added or served on the side after the beans are soft.  The beans also make an excellent burrito filling.  Another leftover dish -- add a little anchovy and cook with escarole or kale.  Add anchovy, a little organic tomato paste from a glass jar (no BPA) and some rinsed salted capers and/or oil cured black olives for a pasta sauce.  Note – water can be used instead of stock to make a vegan dish.

Note the blog entry on planting saffron. 
It is easy!

Ingredients:

-2 cups of organic dried baby lima beans (Whole Foods bulk)

-3 to 5 tb organic olive oil (Costco)

-2 organic onions – diced

-approx. 2 cups of slow roasted organic tomatoes

-2 to 4 cloves organic garlic

-several sprigs (a small bunch) of organic winter savory, summer savory, or herb of your choice (e.g. rosemary or thyme).

-1 teaspoon crushed or ground saffron (optional but use more if you can afford it). 

-1 quart of organic chicken stock or broth (unsalted) plus 1 cup water (Costco).

-salt to taste (at least 1 teaspoon) only after the cooking process.

-optional – add a little of any other spice that you like – I use a little cayenne.  If adding parsley or cilantro do it after cooking while the beans are still hot.

Prep and Cooking:

1 day ahead:  Soak the lima beans in water.  Add water to cover by at least a few inches plus a teaspoon of baking soda – this will make the beans cook faster.

Next day --- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Drain and rinse beans.  Dice: 2 onions (0.85 lb or 388 g) and about 3 cups of oven dried tomatoes (mine are frozen) coarsely.  Add the olive oil, beans, crushed garlic, tomato, savory (or thyme, rosemary, lovage, bay, etc.), saffron (crumble or grind first) and chicken stock or broth to a dutch oven or heavy oven pan with a lid (I use a Staub 4 qt).  Add stock to cover all of the ingredients.  DO NOT ADD SALT.

Put into  the 300 degree oven for several hours until reduced and very tender.  I usually cook them for 5 hours with the lid on and then take the lid off for another hour of cooking. After cooking adjust the seasoning and add salt to taste. Add any fresh herbs or additional spices.  Cooking time: about 4 - 6 hours.

Note about dried beans and salt.  In my work I’m always challenging the conventional wisdom.  Therefore I’ve tried cooking dried beans in salted water.  It has worked before.  One day I added salt to cook chickpeas.  Chickpeas from hell.  I checked and cooked them for hours.  Ouch.  After that I have always omitted the salt during cooking.  I think that it depends on the prior moisture content of the bean and possibly several other unmeasurable factors.  To add flavor to beans during cooking now I just add herbs and sometimes onion.

Saffron, garlic and winter savory are relatively easy to grow at home.  See my post on saffron.   When I get garlic that is turning green and sprouting I just separate the garlic bulbs and plant them any time of year (provided that the ground is not frozen).  Garlic is very easy to grow.  If you can find winter savory it is easy to grow and relatively cold hearty.  Savory is THE herb to use with beans.

Roughly chopped frozen oven dried tomatoes.

Summer savory.

Beans, onion, tomato and saffron.

 f

Stock added to the eans, onion, tomato and saffron.