Capers are normally kept in brine or pickled with vinegar. In addition to being a delicious appetiser, its slightly bitter taste goes well with all kinds of dishes. It is part of tradition recipes in Italian, Greek, Provençal and Spanish cuisines.
The flavour of capers is intense, well-defined and salty, similar to bitter olives. They must be rinsed and drained if we want to eliminate the excessive taste of vinegar or salt.
They give a special flavour to sauces, pastas, asparagus, salads, mince and go well with all kinds of fish, especially if you add some refreshing drops of lemon.
Its outstanding flavour seasons pizza and focaccia or recipes with shredded chicken. In modern cooking, it is mixed with sauces like tartar, remoulade or for steak tartare.
The caper is the flower bud of the plant, while what we know as large capers is its fruit, which we can recognise by the soft seeds it contains.
Some recipes with capers offer surprising mixtures of flavours, like vitello tonnato or spaghetti putanesca. Try to fry them until they are crispy to add a new taste to your Caesar salad.
