The Day the Saffron Ran Out

A fish sauce we love is built on saffron. One Friday there was none left, and the fish was already in the kitchen.

I reached for turmeric. I have always loved it. It gives the same gold to a sauce, but the flavour goes somewhere else: earthier, warmer, with a little bitterness at the edge.

I tasted it and did not want to go back.

Turmeric comes with a lot of stories these days, most of them about inflammation. It is an easy wagon to climb onto, and I will leave that to others. It is in this sauce because of how it tastes.

Why black cod

Turmeric is a strong flavour, and strong flavours need a partner that gains from them.

Black cod is that fish. It is rich and full of its own oil, with large soft flakes. A sauce with some earth and bitterness gives all that richness something to lean against. The two make each other clearer.

I would not do the same with halibut. A good piece of halibut is one of the cleanest bites there is, and I would not want anything that strong standing beside it. That says nothing against black cod. It simply benefits more.

What an empty jar taught me

I would not have tried this on purpose. Saffron and fish is a pairing I learned young and never thought to question. Some of the best things on our menu started as a shortage on a Friday afternoon.

When black cod is on the board, this is how we serve it. See our Friday Seafood Platter.