Small, green and packed with flavor, capers are one of my favorite ingredients that I keep on hand all the times. Not everyone likes capers, but I personally think their salty, pickled flavor can add the right amount of punch to dish to take it over the top.
The other day, I was eating sliced flank steak with a caramelized red onion, Kalamata olive and caper sauce when I began to ponder about capers. As much as I love and use them in cooking, I realized I did not know what exactly they were or where they come from. Wikipedia provided this explanation for me…
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The caper (Capparis spinosa L.) is a perennial spiny shrub that bears rounded, fleshy leaves and big white to pinkish-white flowers. A caper is also the pickled bud of this plant.
It goes on to explain that the plant is native to the Mediterranean region, hence how nicely it pairs with Mediterranean food. Capers are very versatile, complementing many different types of dishes with the adventure of their taste.
One of my favorite dishes made with capers is chicken piccata, which is essentially a lightly breaded chicken breast sauteed and seasoned with a sauce of lemon, white wine and capers and served over pasta. A search on Epicurious for recipes with capers brings up results that pairs capers with many mainstays such as veal, pork, veggies, salmon, and crab cakes, to name a few. I also love to toss capers into a red sauce, served over pasta.
My favorite “in a pinch” recipe with capers is the following. Mix together a diced Roma tomato, 5 or 6 Kalamata olives (halved), one minced small clove of garlic and a teaspoon of capers in a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and season with freshly ground pepper. Let stand at room temperature while you broil or grill fresh salmon fillets. When salmon is finished, top with caper relish and crumbled feta cheese and serve with a side of couscous and green salad.
Posted on March 8th, 2008 by katiejocannon
Filed under: Food
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