Autumn Vegetables with Capers

March 23, 2006

Capers are the pickled flower buds of a Mediterranean shrub, Capparis spinosa. Their characteristic flavour doesn’t develop until the capers are pickled.  It comes from mustard oil, methyl isothiocyanate (released from glucocapparin molecules by enzymatic reaction).

The buds are picked early in the morning before they open and the capers are pickled in vinegar. As the buds develop quickly, constant picking is required.

Capers come in a variety of sizes but the tiny non pareilles are most prized.

You will also come across capers that have been preserved in granular salt and these are regarded by many as being superior to pickled ones. Salted capers need to be refreshed in water to get rid of some of the salt and soften the buds. I like to rinse off the salt and soak them overnight in a little verjuice.

As well as the buds, the caper fruits or caperberries are also pickled. These are much larger – about the size of small olives - and generally have the stalks left on. Caper berries are a good “designer” ingredient for antipasto platters.

I’ve used salted capers in today’s dish which is something like a ratatouille.

I deviate a little from the traditional recipe in that I like to add some white balsamic vinegar to the vegetable stew. This gives a nice bite, reminiscent of Sicilian caponata.

Autumn Vegetables with Capers

2 red onions, peeled and sliced in eighths
6 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium eggplant, diced
1 red and 1 yellow capsicum, deseeded and sliced
4 medium courgettes, cut diagonally into chunks
3 tablespoons tomato paste
6 vine-ripened tomatoes, skinned, deseeded and roughly chopped
3 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
salt and freshly milled pepper
3 tablespoons salted capers, well rinsed and drained
basil or parsley

Heat the oil in a large deep frying pan and sauté the onions and garlic over a medium heat till the onion is tender. Add the eggplant, turn up the heat and cook for about four minutes, stirring from time to time. Add the capsicum and courgettes and cook for a further four minutes then add the tomatoes and tomato paste. Stir in the vinegar, cover and bring to the boil then turn back the heat and simmer for 25 minutes. Check and stir from time to time, adding a little water if required, but aim for a thickish sauce at the end. Add salt and pepper as desired. Ten minutes before serving, stir in the capers.

Ladle into a large serving dish and sprinkle with some chopped basil or parsley.

<< Previous | Next >>