Recipes
Chicken, Corn & Saffron Soup
Serves 4
| Prep Time: 10 mins
| Cook Time: 50 mins
| Total Time: 1 hr
You may need: Spanish Saffron
Discover The Recipe
Inspired by a Persian chicken soup known as “Morgh Zaferani” our Chefs created this recipe with comfort, nostalgia, and mouthwarming flavor in mind. Think of it as your favorite chicken noodle soup with an extra touch of elegance. This soup is beautiful in color and packed with amazing nutrients making it perfect for weeknight dinners and entertaining. The flavor is enlivened by the addition of one Iran’s (and the world’s) favorite spices, saffron.
Saffron is undoubtedly one of the most expensive and prestigious spices in the world. It imparts a unique yellow hue and distinctive flavor to recipes like this Chicken, Corn and Saffron Soup. The red thread like stigmas come from a flower called crocus sativus – also known as the saffron crocus. Each flower produces only three threads (stigma) of saffron and blooms for only one week each year. Saffron must be harvested by hand during the early morning hours while the flowers are still closed to maintain the structure of the fragile stigmas on the inside. This labor-intensive process is what contributes to the high price point. Not to mention that it takes about 1,000 flowers to provide one ounce of saffron. We take pride in providing our subscribers with premium grade Saffron. Industry experts describe the taste of saffron as slightly sweet and luxurious with a “hay-like” aroma. Though subtle, its flavor is recognizable in any dish much like our recipe for Chicken, Corn and Saffron Soup.
Ingredients
4 bone-in chicken breasts (chicken thighs work as well)
½ tsp salt (plus more to taste)
¼ tsp black pepper
1 Tbsp oil
1 small yellow onion (diced)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
3 celery stalks (cut into ½ inch pieces)
4 cups frozen corn kernels (canned corn will work too)
1 tsp Piquant Post Spanish Saffron (crushed between your thumbs or mortar and pestle)
8 cups chicken broth (low sodium)
3 cups broken vermicelli noodles (or thin spaghetti noodles)
Chopped parsley (for garnish)
To serve: crusty white bread
Notes
Saffron is one of the world’s most expensive and luxurious spices that adds a nuanced earthy flavor to soups and stews.
Instructions
Season the chicken generously with salt and pepper then set aside. Heat a large pot over Med heat and add oil. When the oil is shimmering, place the chicken into the pot and brown for 5 minutes on each side. Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside on a plate.
To the pot, add onions and saute until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and saute for an additional 1 minute. Add the celery, corn, Piquant Post Saffron threads, chicken broth and scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the chicken back to the pot, bring to a boil then reduce the heat to Med-Low and simmer for 30 minutes.
Use a pair of tongs and remove the chicken from the soup and transfer to a cutting board. Using 2 forks, shred the chicken into small pieces and discard the bones. Return the soup to a boil over Med-High heat. Once boiling, add the broken vermicelli noodles and cook until al dente for about 5 minutes.
Add the shredded chicken back to the soup and stir. Turn off the heat and adjust the salt levels if necessary. Serve the soup with crusty white bread and garnish with chopped parsley.
Alternatives & Substitutions
This Chicken, Corn & Saffron Soup is comforting and nutritious and perfect for cozy evenings by the fireplace. You can make this recipe even more filling by carrots or root vegetables like potatoes. If you would like to try a fish based soup, try our Spanish Saffron Cod recipe. It's amazing!
If you’d like to make this a meat-free recipe then substitute the chicken with meaty mushrooms or omit it all together. Be sure to use vegetable stock in place of chicken stock. Another fantastic meat-free recipe featuring Spanish Saffron is our Lentil Aash.
Interested in a sweet treat? We have an amazing, floral-sweet recipe for Saffron and Rose Rice Pudding – a Persian dessert that is usually made for special occasions.
Be sure to leave comments and feedback on your meals and experiments in the comments for others to read.
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Chicken, Corn & Saffron Soup
Serves
4
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
50 mins
Total Time
1 hr
Piquant Post spice you'll need: Spanish Saffron
Ingredients
4 bone-in chicken breasts (chicken thighs work as well)
½ tsp salt (plus more to taste)
¼ tsp black pepper
1 Tbsp oil
1 small yellow onion (diced)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
3 celery stalks (cut into ½ inch pieces)
4 cups frozen corn kernels (canned corn will work too)
1 tsp Piquant Post Spanish Saffron (crushed between your thumbs or mortar and pestle)
8 cups chicken broth (low sodium)
3 cups broken vermicelli noodles (or thin spaghetti noodles)
Chopped parsley (for garnish)
To serve: crusty white bread
Instructions
Season the chicken generously with salt and pepper then set aside. Heat a large pot over Med heat and add oil. When the oil is shimmering, place the chicken into the pot and brown for 5 minutes on each side. Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside on a plate.
To the pot, add onions and saute until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and saute for an additional 1 minute. Add the celery, corn, Piquant Post Saffron threads, chicken broth and scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the chicken back to the pot, bring to a boil then reduce the heat to Med-Low and simmer for 30 minutes.
Use a pair of tongs and remove the chicken from the soup and transfer to a cutting board. Using 2 forks, shred the chicken into small pieces and discard the bones. Return the soup to a boil over Med-High heat. Once boiling, add the broken vermicelli noodles and cook until al dente for about 5 minutes.
Add the shredded chicken back to the soup and stir. Turn off the heat and adjust the salt levels if necessary. Serve the soup with crusty white bread and garnish with chopped parsley.
Notes
Saffron is one of the world’s most expensive and luxurious spices that adds a nuanced earthy flavor to soups and stews.
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