Ryse of Fleyshe (Saffron Rice)
Creamy, risotto-like saffron rice bedighted with saffron threads
City/Region: England
Time Period: c. 1390
While saffron isn’t used widely today, it was all the rage in medieval Europe. It was used not only to flavor and color food, but as dye for cloth, ink for illuminated manuscripts, hair dye, and medicine.
This dish comes from the old medieval standby The Forme of Cury and has a creamy, risotto-like texture and is really good. The name translates to “meat rice”, meaning that it should be eaten with meat, not on fasting days. It definitely would go great with something like osso buco.
“Take rice and wash it clean, and put in an earthen pot with good broth and let it cook well. Afterward take Almond milk and add it, and color it with saffron and salt, and serve it forth. ”
Ingredients:
- A large pinch or about 1/2 teaspoon saffron threads*
- 1 cup (235 ml) almond milk*
- 2 cups (350 g) white rice
- 3 cups (700 ml) chicken broth
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
*See notes below.
Instructions:
- Crush the saffron in a mortar and pestle. Add some of the almond milk to the mortar and let the saffron diffuse for 5 minutes.
- Wash the rice. Combine the rice, chicken broth, the rest of the almond milk, and salt in a pot. After the saffron has diffused, add the saffron almond milk to the pot. Stir everything together.
- Set it over high heat and bring it to a boil. Boil for 30 seconds, then reduce the heat to low and cover the pot. Cook for 20 minutes.
- Remove the pot from the heat and let it sit with the lid on for 10 minutes. Fluff the rice, bedight it with a few extra strands of saffron if you like, then serve it forth.
Notes
- Saffron is one of the world's most expensive spices and is used to both color food yellow and for its complex, earthy, sweet, floral, bitter flavor.
- You can make your own almond milk or use store bought, just make sure that the only ingredients are water and almonds (no flavorings).
- Link to saffron: https://amzn.to/3rbPs3b
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