How to make the Penne primavera con zafferano:
Wither the sliced leeks in a pan with olive oil, add the
zucchini cut in cubes and cook for 12-15 minutes, then
add the mascarpone and the saffron melted in hot milk. In
the meantime cook the pasta in plenty of salted water.
Strain the pasta, add the vegetable sauce, sprinkle some
grated Parmigiano and serve at once.
Serves 4
 The saffron
The cultivation of saffron has an ancient history; many
documents testify how intense its cultivation was in S.
Gimignano medieval economy. As a very expensive product it
was an important element for the success of merchants from
S. Gimignano at that time. In 1228 the Commune of S.
Gimignano paid the debts contracted for the siege to the
Castello Della Nera in part with saffron and in part with
money, and in 1276 it set up in and out tolls which made it
gain a lot for export duties. In 1295 the Commune assigned
two people to the weighing of the saffron, established at
the gates of the Town where tolls were collected.
The San Gimignano pure saffron is cultivated with natural methods
which exclude any use of chemical products in each phase of
cultivation, desiccation and preservation.
The saffron
stigmas are packaged entire to grant the purest quality and
their strong, spicy and slightly bitter aroma. The
production of a kilogram of saffron needs about 150.000
flowers. Saffron is a very delicate spice, light and
humidity damage it: it must be stored in well closed jars,
in a dry and dark place. Among the most effective
anti-oxidation elements coming from food there are the carotenoids, a family of yellow, orange and red pigments. We
meet them in vegetable tissues, especially in fruit and
vegetables which, in most cases our organism can transform
in vitamin A. Carotenoids in our organism have many
functions: they contribute to control pathological phenomena
that include the action of free radicals; they increment our
immunological defenses; they act as generators of vitamin A;
they increase the action of prevention from cancerogenesis.
Under the same swallowed quantity the contents of
carotenoids in saffron is about 8% against the 0,008% of
carrots: a thousand times more.
Saffron contains other
useful elements to our organism as vitamins B1 and B2 and
many natural aromas; these two vitamins are necessary
components to growth, for fats, proteins and carbohydrates
metabolism. They promote health in general, moreover natural
aromas have eupeptic benefits that means they favor normal
digestive function. That's why saffron has excellent
digestive properties and it is an activator of metabolism.
The L'Aquila Saffron DOP
The San Gimignano Saffron DOP
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