Saffron Threads

Our answer

Nigella's Yellow Spaghetti (from NIGELLISSIMA) has a cream-based sauce that is thickened with eggs and scented with saffron. The saffron and egg yolks also give the sauce a deep golden colour. Saffron threads are the whole, dried styles and stigmas of the saffron crocus and are usually sold in small packages, as a little goes a long way.

Unfortunately there is not a good substitute for saffron threads. It is possible to buy powdered saffron and this should be ground saffron threads. However unless the package states that it is pure ground saffron, the likelihood is that it will contain a mixture of saffron and other spices, such as turmeric or paprika. If you can find pure ground saffron then you could use this and you would need a small pinch, but we would avoid using anything that is not pure saffron. Turmeric would not be a good alternative as, although it would give a yellow colour, it has a very different flavour. Instead it would be better to make the pasta and omit the saffron altogether. In this case you would not need to heat the marsala at the beginning of the recipe and you can just add it at step 4.