Sicilian capers dried (at left) and reconstituted (at right)
You probably buy your capers, if you use them, in tiny glass jars. This makes capers seem precious, jewel-like, to be doled out one by one. So why not go in a different direction in 2019… and make it a year with capers out the wazoo?
A full pound of dried capers from Sicily!
Shown here, a full pound of caper berries—which will weigh more when reconstituted—dried in Sicily, cured in salt, and available for the ridiculously reasonable price of $22 delivered. You do need to rinse them and let them soak a few minutes in fresh water before use; follow that simple direction and most reviewers say they are a superior product to more familiar brine-packed capers with a fuller flavor. (My verdict: the dried Sicilian berries are indeed better, but be sure to rinse thoroughly after soaking to get all the salt off.) And if you want brine-packed capers Amazon has them too, at an equally reasonable big-jar price.
Capers are the berries of an evergreen shrub and are hand-picked in Spain, Morocco and Italy (and perhaps other places, but these three dominate the market). They have a taste that’s like a bite of pickle but more complex, with an additional vegetal note. They’re delicious, which is why aficionados guiltily snack of them right out of the jar (but only a few at a time).
Your new supply is going to make a big difference because, after consuming perhaps 8 oz in your entire life, I am now going to ask you to finish your entire package by the end of 2019. You don’t have to eat them all yourself, but you do have to prepare foods people will enjoy rather than dumping in the trash.
The two most common uses in my life have been on loaded lox-and-cream-cheese bagels and as a component of steak tartare. I’ve used them in astringent lemon butter sauces on chicken or fish and wished I could have some more. (Now I can!) Here are a few others mentioned by Amazon reviewers (I’ve starred the ones I am excited about):
*Pizza topping
Potato salad mix-in
*Coleslaw mix-in
*Tartar sauce (use in place of or additional to chopped pickle)
Mixed with cream cheese
Chicken piccata
And, how about capers in your New Years’ Texas Caviar Salad? Go for it! A new year is coming, and hopefully a better one.
FYI, Fred tho Butcher in Halfmoon carries non-nonpareil brined capers in a quart jar for $10.69. And here’s my recipe for pork scallopine in mustard-caper cream sauce.
From the kitchen of Jake Bryan. chezjake@earthlink.net
Pork scallopine with mustard and caper cream sauce. (with variations for chicken strips or for shrimp, scallops, and mushrooms)
This is a very quick, hearty dish. It can also be made with boneless chicken breast sliced into 1-inch wide strips or “chicken tenders.”, or, using a slight variation in cooking technique, for a mix of shrimp, scallops, and mushrooms.
For pork scallopine: Get a piece of boneless pork loin that is as light colored as possible. You will need at least 1/3 pound per generous serving. With the meat still well chilled use a sharp knife to trim off most exterior fat and slice across the grain into slices that are approximately 3/16 inch (5 mm) thick. (or have your butcher do it for you on his slicer.)
For chicken, allow 1/3 to 1/2 lb. boneless chicken breast per serving. Either buy the more expensive tenders, or use a sharp kinfe to cut regualr boneless breasts into strips 3/4 to 1 inch wide.
For the seafood/mushroom mix, use 1 to 1 1/2 lbs. each of peeled, deveined shrimp and small bay scallops, plus a 10 oz. package of small white mushrooms. If using frozen seafood, defrost under cold running water before using in recipe. If the shrimp are precooked, only add them for the last 2 minutes of cooking. Mushrooms can either be sliced, or just quartered if they are small. To cook the seafood/mushroom mix, use the instructions below those for the pork and chicken, since the sauce must be finished before adding the seafood.
Besides the pork, chicken, or seafood and mushrooms, you will need (enough for sauce for 4 – 6 servings):
2-3 tbsp. sweet butter
1 tbsp mild cooking oil (not olive oil)
1 large onion, chopped into 1/4 inch dice.
1 medium sized sweet red pepper, chopped in 1/4 inch dice
1-2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
2-3 tbsp small (non-pareille) capers (if they come packed in salt instead of brine, rinse well in cold water before using)
3 or 4 heaping tbsp Dijon mustard (more, if you like)
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
small pinch of cayenne pepper
1 1/2 tsp paste-style Chicken (or Seafood) Base
1/2 cup dry white wine or dry vermouth
1/2 pint heavy cream
Have all ingredients prepared before starting to cook, you won’t have time once you start.
To cook pork or chicken: Heat a large heavy sauté pan over medium-high heat, add oil and butter, and as soon as bubbling subsides and butter just begins to darken in color, brown the individual pork slices quickly on both sides (about 30 seconds per side) (If using chicken strips, brown about 1 minute on each side.), removing to a plate on the side until all pork pieces are done (add more butter if necessary). Then add onion and sweet red pepper to the remaining fat in the pan and sauté until onions are transparent. Add garlic and sauté one minute longer. Add capers, black and cayenne pepper, chicken or seafood base, and white wine and cook, scraping up flavor bits in the pan until liquid is reduced and syrupy, then add mustard and heavy cream and boil together over high heat, stirring, for two minutes. Return pork slices or chicken strips (and any of their juices) to pan, cover with sauce, reduce to simmer, with pan covered, for two minutes more.
To cook the seafood/mushroom mix: Heat a large heavy sauté pan over medium-high heat, add oil and butter, and as soon as bubbling subsides and butter just begins to darken in color, add onions and diced red pepper. and sauté until onions are transparent, add mushrooms and garlic, and continue to sauté just until mushrooms start to release their juices. Add capers, black and cayenne pepper, seafood base, and white wine and cook, scraping up flavor bits in the pan until liquid is reduced and syrupy, then add mustard and heavy cream and boil together over high heat, stirring, for two minutes. The cream should thicken noticeably. Add scallops and shrimp together if shrimp are not precooked, then reduce heat and simmer for 4 minutes. If shrimp are precooked, then only add them after scallops have cooked for 2 minutes, since they just need to heat through.
Serve any of the options over rice or very thin egg noodles, with good bread to mop up the extra sauce, and a green salad with a tart dressing on the side. Goes well with either a dry white wine or beer.
Thank you Jake! That is a more than fair price for non-nonpareil capers (I suspect “non-pariel” is puffery on the order of “colossal” olives and don’t pay any attention to that designation) and Fred the Butcher is a great resource for Capital District cooks. And thank you for the recipe, which I will definitely check.
All, Jake is responsible for two excellent pickled vegetable recipes on this blog so you can approach his prep with confidence.