Susan Parsons: McMillans of WindView Farm in Bungendore are mad about saffron

Slow Food Canberra visited WindView Farm outside Bungendore for a saffron experience on April 11. Property owners Christine and Ian McMillan moved to the farm in 2009 though both still work in Canberra. Christine, a second-generation Canberran, loves working outdoors and says Ian won't put lights on her lawn because he fears she will never come inside.

WindView's hazelnut orchard is starting to produce nuts, which the Slow Fooders tasted, giving them the thumbs-up. The couple also have Square Meater cattle. It is the growing of saffron, however, which has been the most successful challenge to date.

Six years ago the McWilliams bought 10,000 saffron corms from Tasmania. Pests have proved no problem as the plantation is surrounded by a two-metre fence. Too much rain in summer when saffron likes to be dry can be a problem, however, and heavy rain can erode the saffron beds. Drought is overcome by irrigation, fed from storage rainwater tanks, and bore water if required.

Last year the saffron harvest was 300 grams However, with this year's wet January when 135mm was recorded on the property, the harvest is off to a slow start and may be affected. Last year Ian and Christine harvested it all themselves, with help from family, and took stock to the EPIC farmers' market. This season Christine advertised locally and has plenty of school children and adults ready to help. WindView Farm is developing an online store.

The daily harvest depends on how much sun is shining as this is critical to the flowers' opening. On a sunny day flowers are picked from 7.30am but if it is cloudy picking may not start until 10am and continue to 2pm.

Canberrans can grow saffron as an experiment as I did from 1994 to 1997/98. My original five corms, from Tas-Saff at Glaziers Bay in Tasmania, rotted from over-watering when planted in a pot. A second attempt, with them planted in a dry, sunny spot in my garden bed, was more successful. But they died out in the second summer, which was wet. Have any home gardeners had better success? (email: bodenparsons@bigpond.com)

The McMillans enjoy their saffron in Ottolenghi's saffron and chicken salad, and use the spring onion and rocket option in preference to fennel. They also consider a lighter oil, such as grapeseed (rather than olive) better suits the flavour of the orange and saffron. Christine bakes saffron potatoes with sage and makes a saffron soft drink each day that contains a '"mother" apple cider vinegar and honey.

The Slow Food members saw saffron flowers in bloom in a paddock, then the processing, when flowers are picked by hand and the red stigmas removed with tweezers. In the McMillans' kitchen, the stigmas are dried in a tiered food dryer.

Using pre-supplied WindView Farm saffron, Lorraine Bockwinkel of Queanbeyan made a crab and saffron quiche for morning tea, which was followed by Carolyn Ho's medieval saffron tart. Called Daryoles, it is a custard one made with almond milk, eggs, cream, sugar, cinnamon, rose water and saffron.

Susan Parsons is a Canberra writer.

Mediaeval Custard Pie

2 (9 inch) unbaked pie crusts

1/2 cup blanched almonds

1 1/4 cups cold water

1 cup half-and-half cream

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

5 eggs

3/4 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon rose water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Press pie crusts into the bottom and up the sides of two 9 inch pie pans. Prick with a fork all over to keep them from bubbling up. Bake pie crusts for about 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until set but not browned. Set aside to cool.

Make an almond milk by placing almonds in the container of a food processor. Process until finely ground, then add water, and pulse just to blend. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes, then strain through a cheesecloth. Measure out 1 cup of the almond milk, and mix with half and half. Stir in the saffron and cinnamon, and set aside.

Place the eggs and sugar in a saucepan, and mix until well blended. Place the pan over low heat, and gradually stir in the almond milk mixture and cinnamon. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until the mixture begins to thicken. When the mixture is thick enough to evenly coat the back of a metal spoon, stir in rose water and remove from heat. Pour into the cooled pie shells.

Bake for 40 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the center is set, but the top is not browned. Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until serving.